Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Make it a day on…not a day off!

Do you have the day off? If so, what are you doing to help your community?

During the 1950s and ’60s, civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. recognized the power of service to strengthen communities and achieve common goals.

Here’s how it all began:
In 1994, Congress started the King Day of Service to build on his legacy by turning a federal holiday into a national day of community service. This holds true to King’s teachings of nonviolence and social justice. The idea is that people from all walks of life (socio-economic backgrounds, races, religions, sexual orientation, etc) come together to improve lives and bridge barriers. It’s about creating Dr. King’s vision of a “Beloved Community.”

What are you doing to help your community on your day off? If you’re like me, you’ve been too busy with everything on your plate to even contemplate participating in King’s Day of Service (I’m in the office!).

Good news. We don’t have to make it a one-day-only deal!

Here are some ideas:

TODAY, make a commitment to help your community.

TODAY, contemplate how you can be of service to your community for the rest of the year.

TODAY, find organizations or projects to volunteer your time, services, or money.

TODAY: Make a plan of service and action for the next year.

TODAY, go out of your way to help someone in need.

For more information, visit the MLK Jr. Service Day website.

Guest Post

Kelly Watson

Womenwise Marketing

War language has been dominating business—and making women uncomfortable—for a long time. We’re not sissies. It’s just that most of us don’t relate to language that talks about making a killing and blowing away the competition and all the other war clichés used in marketing.

I admit: I’ve been guilty of this in the past. I’ve injected my marketing with phrases like “secret weapon” and “battle for the wallets” in hopes that it would make the offer more compelling.

I can’t say it’s done me much good. And in an article by Danny G of AdColumnist, it may even be turning off potential clients. He writes:

“Simply put, you can’t use the language of war or criminal behavior and expect people to like you. … Am I overreacting? Is it okay to embrace war language? After all, they’re just figures of speech, right? Wrong. It’s too easy to use war as a metaphor for business. It gives everything a false sense of urgency; it implies that in every business decision there are outright victors and losers.”

No wonder women in business are turned off by sales and marketing. We think in terms of creating relationships. We prefer it if everybody’s happy in the end. So this talk of winners and losers doesn’t click with us.

What’s worse: because the tone of most marketing conflicts with their beliefs, many women start to feel that all marketing is pushy or aggressive. And then some women business owners start avoiding marketing altogether. Not a good idea if you want to be successful.

Just because most marketing techniques are male-oriented doesn’t mean YOUR marketing has to be that way. Women are great at building relationships, and can excel at marketing on social networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn. There, entrepreneurs can promote their business simply by connecting with potential customers.

You might also find it helpful to change the way you talk about marketing. In her book Testosterone-Free Marketing, marketing consultant Denise Michaels offers some advice on this topic:

“Women generally do not regard people as targets. Are we shooting to kill or providing customers with a benefit? People who buy from me are my ‘focus market.’ I attract my customers, entice them with what they want and embrace them when they become customers. A more gentle approach, wouldn’t you say?”

Similarly, you can refer to your competition as colleagues, then work with them to get a bigger market share. This kind of talk might not come naturally at first, but over time, it could reshape the way you view marketing.

Kelly Watson is a freelance marketing coach and the founder of OneWomanMarketing, a web site full of free marketing tips and other business resources exclusively for women. Visit the OneWomanMarketing blog and subscribe to Kelly’s free bimonthly podcast at OneWomanMarketing.com.

Birthing the Elephant is an interesting read for those interested in finding out more about the emotional aspects of entrepreneurship while avoiding the pitfalls of the territory. Authors Karin Abarbanel and Bruce Freeman give readers a glimpse into the rollercoaster of sentiments entrepreneurs face throughout the various stages of business ownership.

The book walks you through what you can and should feel throughout the four stages of entrepreneurship (Starting, running, turning breakdowns into breakthroughs, and finding your business rhythm) and interviews real-life Entrepreneur Goddesses about their stories. Birthing the Elephant is an honest inside account of life on the inside for successful entrepreneurs Bobbi Brown, Liz Lange, Lisa Druxman, and about two-dozen others.

While Birthing the Elephant started off a bit textbookish, the tone soon changed and I was drawn in after a few chapters. I soon felt at one with the emotions described during the various stages of birthing a business. And yes, it probably feels like birthing an elephant at times. Knowing these two-dozen Entrepreneur Goddesses, whose stories are told throughout the book, have been through the same roller coaster ride was both refreshing and mending.

Birthing the Elephant is a recommended read, but not a must-keep book for your Entrepreneur Goddess Library. Read it and pass it on to another woman in business or contemplating entrepreneurship.