Mom Fitness

Kudos to my friend Tara Downie, the mother and trainer who contributes to my "Mom Fitness" pieces, she ran the Boston Marathon today. I am so psyched for her and hope you'll all join me in congratulating her. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate (at least in the blogger world) than to post her second installment to the BabyKeyes blog.

ABS-olutely Fabluous

The number one area that women wish they could tone is their abdominals. You can crunch for hours, but it’s necessary to change things up in your routine and give those muscles a wake up call! Try these three No Crunch moves. They are a great alternative to mat based ab exercise. So stand up and tone that tummy!

What you’ll need: One 3-5 lb hand weight

Move 1

The Figure 8.

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Hold weight in both hands in front of your body, elbows bent. With core tight, slowly bring the weight up to your head and down to your hips creating a figure 8 pattern. Keep the torso still. Try 10-12 rotations clockwise, then another 10-12 counter clockwise.

Move 2

Oblique Bends

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Hold weight in both hands just above your head, elbows bent. Hold core tight. Slowly bring weight down towards the left shoulder, elbow slides down to left hip. Now bring weight back up, then down towards the right shoulder, elbow slides down to the right hip. Keep the torso still. Once you have the hang of it, keep the weight moving side to side like a rainbow over your head. Do 20 side to sides.

Move 3

Standing Overhead crunch

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Hold weight in both hands in front of your body, elbows bent. With core tight, slowly bring the weight up over your head and pull it back down to the waist crunching forward and contracting the abs holding the contraction for a 2 second count. Continue the upward/crunching movement in a slow and controlled way for 15 reps.

Mom Business

This is from a new friend of mine, Susan Zimmerman, who really gets the "buzz" relating to Facebook for small businesses. She has her own direct to consumer business which will be showcased this summer on the Cape at the Popponesset Marketplace at New Seabury in Mashpee. She also does small business consulting and works closely with Bungalow Scout (hence the wonderful addition to the BabyKeyes line).

Getting-to-Know-You a ‘la Facebook

I’m passionate about selling! I love meeting prospective customers in person and, more recently, online. In less than two months, I grew Sueb.do’s Facebook fan base to over 760 fans. The goal I’ve set for myself is to attract one thousand Facebook fans by the end of May. Why, you ask? That nice round number is in part inspired by aNovember ‘09 Techcrunch article reporting that 77% of all Facebook fan pages have fewer than 1000 fans. I see no reason why Suebo’s fan page can’t be included in the top 23%! But there’s also a good business purpose to my quest for fans. My Sueb.do Facebook fan page, Twitter-feed, as well as this blog, play a key role in helping me introduce the Sueb.do brand to the Cape community before I even open the doors of my new Sueb.do store at the end of May.

Everyone’s talking about social media these days, but I’ve yet to meet very many small business owners who are successful at harnessing its power. It’s the ease of forming new relationships that wows me. Here are four tips to help you get started connecting via Facebook and creating buzz.

1) Identify your target customer. In my case, finding prospective customers for my new Cape-based store means Googling all things Cape Cod and The Islands. I scan web sites, Facebook groups and fan pages, looking carefully at the community gathered in each of these locations. Next, I drill down and look for individuals with large networks and a clear connection to the Cape or The Islands. I also search for mommy bloggers who write with passion and embrace entrepreneurism like me.

2) Reach out individually to the people who match your target profile. Once you find that ideal customer or potential biz partner, don’t be shy about inviting them to join your fan page. Yes, this one-by-one approach takes time, but the potential payoffs are huge.

Case in point: I ‘met’ Kerry from Cape Cod Lollicakes on the Cape Cod fan page by introducing myself via Facebook direct messaging. I actively look for Cape Cod fans like Kerry who are small business owners like me. Kerry and I traded info about each of our Cape-based biz and shared advice. Our online exchanges accelerated our getting-to-know-you’s and helped us quickly identify biz synergies. To make a long story short, Kerry will be handing out Cape Cod Lollicakes at Sueb.do’s grand opening!

Later, after observing interactions on the Cape Cod fan page for a bit, I posted Sueb.do product photos. This time, I was the one approached by another fan. Justin from Cape Cod Beach Chair liked the style and usefulness of the Scout bags and reached out to me. In fact, we are in the process of discussing opening a second Sueb.do store within his store this summer.

3) Continuously interact by asking questions. Fans stay engaged and you begin to build relationships through conversation. Recently I queried fans under a photo of Sueb.do custom signs: “What saying do you like best for a custom sign on Cape Cod or The Islands?” The suggestions generated an order for a sign that said “On Island Time”.

4) Create a rhythm to your interactions. Instituting ‘rituals’ allows me to regularly showcase products, collect valuable feedback and create an informal schedule for my postings. For example, every Monday I post a product photo and encourage comments from fans. Once a week my blog posts allow me to share biz stories and tips in more depth. And randomly as life happens, I insert family photos and personal updates so my fans get to know me better, too.

What amazes me is how naturally the getting-to-know-you process translates to the online world. Bottom line: when you’re open and authentic (which I’m finding easy to be online), people are receptive to forming relationships. I can’t wait to open the doors of my new store on the Cape to welcome all my new friends! And, I love learning about social media. Got any tips to share with me?