Brief description: Christina is a professional trombonist and music educator in Raleigh, NC. She enjoys a fun and relaxed life with her husband Andrew and her cat Velvet. Through her business Summerglen Music, Christina seeks to bring high-quality, innovative music to her community, and to help people discover and enjoy their true creative talents!
What is your favorite city in the world?
I love different things about every city I’ve been to, but my favorite city is Mt. Airy, NC. It is located where the North Carolina mountains begin, and has beautiful scenery and lots to do. The people are really nice, and there are several really good restaurants and bluegrass jam sessions to check out. I especially enjoy their drive-in theatre, which shows 3 movies each night for 5 bucks!
Can you sing? Yes! I’ve always really enjoyed singing, even though I’ve never had formal training. And every good trombonist has to sing at least a little bit. If you had to be stuck in an elevator with one other person for 10 hours who would that person be? If the person could be from any time in history, I would choose Ella Fitzgerald to sit in the elevator with me. She was known as a kind and gentle soul, and boy could she sing. I would enjoy listening to her stories and of course ask for some tips on crafting a good jazz solo! If the person had to be living, I’d pick my husband Andrew. We killed 10 hours at the Dallas airport once, so we could surely do the same in an elevator! What did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be an artist when I was little, especially someone who painted murals and drew cartoons. I did end up becoming an artist, but with sound instead of paint, and songs instead of cartoons. What is the top item on your bucket list? Before I die I want to take several months and drive out west and camp in different national parks, explore little desert towns, and meet new people. The west is so fascinating to me, but I’ve only been out there once, and I flew. I’d enjoy having a big chunk of time to really explore the other side of the country. Do you strike up random conversations with strangers? Yes, often. In fact, I met my husband by striking up a random conversation with him at a coffeeshop! What charities do you support? The two main charities I support are the American Friends Service Committee and the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging. Usually I donate to the Friends, but I especially enjoy going to their North Carolina headquarters and helping them sort donations to go to people in need all over the world. With CFCA, I’ve helped a little Mexican girl with her school tuition for several years. What is your favorite late night snack? A piece of homemade cake and a glass of milk. The best!
After the show with Lynn Terry from Clicknewz.com last Friday, I have been thinking about online communities. So here is the summation of Lynn’s tips and some of my own thoughts.
1. First consider WHY you want to create an online community. You need to have actionable and measurable goals. Could you achieve these goals by being an active participant in existing communities who have a target market similar to yours? What do you have to offer as a community leader? How will you attract members to your community and what will tempt them to stay? Are there opportunities to leverage existing communities by offering complementary services to the members?
2. Do you have the time to devote to creating a community? It takes an awful lot of time to be a community leader so do not even consider it if you are already pushed for time.
3. What platform will you build your community around? Here are some possible options:
a) a blog
b) a forum
c) a Yahoo/Google group
d) an ezine
e) a Skype room/chatroom
f) regular webinars/teleconferences
g) a membership site
Most community leaders have at least 2 of these.
4. What social media will you employ to communicate with your existing community and to draw more members to you? Popular avenues include:
a) Twitter
b) Facebook
c) Ning
d) blog commenting
e) polls and surveys.
f) Internet radio show
g) email signatures
5. Are the benefits to joining your community clear and are they on-going? Lynn recommends asking yourself the question do you have something to say that you can continue talking about for five or more years?
6. Are you able to grow with your community or would it be a case of having to find new people to replace those who have outgrown you? The latter is not necessarily a bad thing but it will then need you to find new blood all the time.
7. What will encourage your community members to become fans and help spread the word?
8. What type of person do you want to attract to your community?
9 How will you deal with those who do not fit or are deliberately disruptive?
10. What kind (if any) of barrier to entry will you have? Although it is very tempting to have an open door policy, will this best serve both you and your community? Examples of barriers could be surveys or interviews or nomination by existing members. This will help you keep out the spammers and the undesirables but is not by any means fool-proof.
11. Will you have others, either paid or volunteer help you to run your community? This could include moderators on forums and Yahoo groups, hosts on Skype rooms and guest bloggers. Although it really helps to have others help you in this way, they will impart their own personality on your community and will change things. Sometimes helpers can attempt to overshadow the community leader or even try to take over the whole shebang.
There are definite advantages to building up a loyal community - done correctly,the members will become your most ardent supporters, your customers, your affiliates. They will give you important feedback which will improve your products and services. They will volunteer to be guinea pigs for new products, they will support you in your endeavors and quickly come to your defense if you are attacked. They also can be critical and demanding of your time. Some communities can turn on you quickly if you fail to live up to their expectations. It is a time-consuming business and can be a double-edged sword.
But for all this, I love leading my small community that has arisen from my blog, my Skype room and my radio show. I love the sense of connectedness, mutual support and the exchange of information - I have easily learnt as much if not more from my community as I have taught. At the moment I fly solo, though I have so much support behind the scenes so I never feel alone. As my community gets bigger, I may well have to rethink this but for now I enjoy my role.
Lynn Terry is herself a masterful community leader because she is extremely generous with her time, exhibits a genuine desire to help people and is clear and honest with her members. Her following is immense loyal and I have never heard a bad word spoken about her. She is very much a role model for me. She cautions though that community building is not appropriate to many business model and can be exhausting but for her is ultimately rewarding.
Think careful before you decide whether to build a community. Build it carefully and thoughtfully and constantly monitor it to make sure it is serving your needs and you are serving your community’s needs. Above all,make sure it is something you have fun doing and that you fill your community with people you want to spend time with - because you will be spending a lot of time with them!
I have been part of Lynn Terry’s community for several months now and I tell you, that lady is a breath of fresh air in the Internet marketing field. She is honest, not interested in hype and has a genuine desire to help people. How many internet marketer that you know would fit that description?
I am very excited to be interviewing her for my show which will air live at noon EST today. We will find out what her passion story is, why she chose her coach and how she built up her community. Lynn is the real deal and has a lot to teach us all about how to run a successful home business.
Listen to the show live and ask questions or if you catch the recording and want to ask Lynn about something then add your questions in the comments section and I will pass them on to her.
Sally was kind and gentle. She loved almost everyone, and had a great capacity for accepting people into her heart. She healed people with her love and gifts in many ways. The amazing magic that was her life built over the years, and her life incredibly took a giant leap upward starting in 2008. She had a long and happy life, and helped thousands of people with their physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges.
In the movie of your life, who would play you?
They probably won’t be making this movie for a while, so the actress might not be born yet! She will have to really study hard to play me as a teen and young woman, because the 60s, 70s and 80s are foreign to her! If I had to choose someone today, it would probably be someone that just shows incredible light through her smile and her face, even if she doesn’t look like me at all. I just don’t even know an actress like that, do you? I asked my husband who would play me, and he said that I should play myself!! Maybe Bette Midler? Probably my niece could play me as a young girl!
What is the single most enjoyable part of your work?
Well, the hugging. When I am not with someone in person, I send them hugs online or by the phone. I have just decided years ago that hugs are a requirement if someone wants to come to me for services. It just caps off an intimate and amazing time together for our sessions.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Everything, so that is what I am doing!
What time do you wake up on weekdays?
I used to sleep late because I worked late. Now, it is rare for me to get up later than 7am because I am so excited to get to work on all my projects!
What is the naughtiest thing you did when you were a child?
When I was little, my little sister and I decided to surprise my parents by washing the station wagon. We thought we did a great job. We used the hose all over the inside and the outside of the car, not realizing that filling the inside of a car with water was a bad thing! Got in big trouble for that one. I don’t think that I was even 10. The car didn’t last long after that!!
Are you a patient person?
It depends. I have pretty endless patience with people that are sick or sad or need my help. I am not patient when I need tech support or customer service, and the service just isn’t there. I always praise good service to a supervisor when I can, but I will not put up with time wasted with no help. I don’t have patience for people that behave without high standards of ethics, or who know that they are doing something wrong (cheating in some way) and do it anyway. I am strong in protecting my clients and charges - so if I adopt you - I will protect you!!
Do you strike up random conversations with strangers?
Is there any other way to live?? LOL
What is your favorite reality TV show?
I don’t get to watch TV very often before 11:30pm, so if I watch a show it is usually a re-broadcast or reruns of shows that are syndicated. My favorite reality show this past year was Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. I wish that they would hire me to do some work with their clients!!
What is your favorite late night snack?
Chocolate and/or ice cream, with/without some nuts. yummmm.
On a Yahoo group recently, I was involved in a debate about whether 2 column Wordpress themes were a better choice than 3 column. One woman was arguing vehemently that 2 column was the only choice and there was evidence to back her up.
We hear this all the time. One person convinced that their opinion is the only correct one for all people in all situations. The internet will surely serve them some proof in some obscure and dubious research.
The truth though is there is rarely a one-size-fits-all solution. Different target markets are drawn to different themes. The only way to be sure which works for you is to test. Luckily themes on Wordpress are easy to change so you can try a variety and see which one works best for you. Does one convert visitors to buyers better? Does one encourage visitors to stay longer on your blog or website and explore more pages? Know your desired outcome and find ways of measuring results. You could even have a poll on your website and ask visitors to vote on their favorite theme.
The trick to being able to judge how good the advice you are being given is, is to know your target market. That will help you decide whether video really is the must-have new technology or whether your audio should play automatically. The Gurus and advice pundits may think they know it all but trust your knowledge and your instincts and test, test, test.
When I heard about Judy Davis and how she was following her passion to be a rock star I couldn’t resist being part of her blog tour. She is an inspiration to us all that with enough passion, determination and support, all things are possible. Judy was kind enough to answer a few questions of which I was burning to know the answers.
1. What were your passions when you were a child?
I loved music (as a fan) and art. I ended up going to art school and studying interior design. But I never picked up an instrument until I was 42.
2. What do your children think about having a Rock Star Mommy?
I started the band when they were in the third and first grade. Now they are in high school and middle school. My oldest son pretty much ignores the fact that I am in band but my seventh grader is like my publicist. He give his teachers books, bookmarks, newspaper articles–you name it. He thinks it’s really cool that I am in a band. (I think my high schooler does too. He just won’t admit it!)
3. Was there a particular event that led you to picking up the guitar for the first time?
Yes. I organized an interview of Jack White (of the band the White Stripes) at my sons’ elementary school. He played a few songs on the guitar in the gymnasium and talked about songwriting and I fell in love with the idea of being a rock star. I signed up for guitar lessons the next day.
4. Has your success surprised you?
Yes and no. From the moment we started the Mydols I dreamed of being in PEOPLE magazine. Two years later it happened. We were in a 3 page spread. It was like I wished it and it happened. The fact that the band has been together for 6 years now though really surprises me. We just keep going and it gets better and better.
photo credit: Mr. Usaji
If two heads are better than one, how powerful then are 20+ heads?
I run a Skype room that is chock full of intelligent, knowledgeable and resourceful people all following their passion, working from home. I have learned already so much from them all -if ever I have a question on any aspect of my business I know that by posting a question in there, I will elicit several great responses. If I need an opinion or some brainstorming, the people never let me down.
How cool then would it be to bring all these people together on the same blog?
Starting from tomorrow, May 1st, that is exactly what will happen. The Passion Project Community blog will start rolling out with daily posts from our members. We are a diverse bunch, some of us have strong marketing backgrounds, others are talented writers, some teach networking or podcasting. You will find the plethora of knowledge coming through with each post.
More importantly we do what you do. We work from home, we try to balance family, friends and work. We get overwhelmed and discouraged at times. We wonder how not to get lost in all the social networking. So if you want some company on your journey to follow your passion, stop by at the blog and subscribe to the feed or just visit us daily
It has been a while since I made a goals post here on my Blog.
Since the last goals post, I have been pleased with the progress I have been making. My blog grows monthly anywhere from 10-40%. My Skype room is going from strength to strength and we will be launching our Community blog on May 1st (more about that in a special blog post coming this week). My client base is growing nicely and I am planning some group coaching sessions soon. I am working on a product which I think will be well received. My blogtalkradio show continues to be a joyful experience every Friday at noon. All in all its been a busy and productive couple of months.
My goals for May include:
1. Continue to refine and execute my marketing plan. I am always evaluating how I spend my time. Social Media particularly can really dominate the day so it is important to make sure that they are worth it. It can be very tricky to calculate the cost/benefit of social media because many of the positive effects aren’t immediately apparent. A single post I made on a forum a year ago recently resulted in a client. There is very often a drip, drip effect of many small interactions that result in the sale.
2. Commit to a launch date for my product of 1st July. Map out the timetable that will achieve this.
3. Work on a curriculum for my group coaching project. Design a marketing campaign.
As my blog is gaining in popularity , I have decided that I wanted to get to know more about my readers.
So if you would like to be interviewed by me and have the interview posted here on my blog then please leave a comment and the best way to get hold of you - if you are at all nervous about leaving any information that could be personal then leave a comment saying you have emailed me some contact details and then email me
All interviews will contain a link to the main website of the interviewee - I love giving link-lurve.
When, over a century ago, Einstein was able to conceive of time as relative instead of absolute he turned the physics world upside down. If you can think of time in the same way you can flip your business and become vastly more efficient.
We all know that some activities that we perform as part of our business have huge payoffs whereas other processes are more like black holes. This then leads us to the obvious conclusion that we should spend more time doing what brings us business.
