Kaira Rouda | Kaira Rouda

26 06, 2009

Questions to Ask when Beginning a New Job

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-07T00:27:52+00:00June 26, 2009|business, entrepreneurs, job descriptions, jobs, learn, mentors, motivation, moving on, new job, positive thinking, Real You Incorporated, smile, speaker, women in business|Comments Off on Questions to Ask when Beginning a New Job

If you’ve earned a new position, congrats! When beginning a new job, it’s important to feel comfortable with the company and your new boss and team. During your first couple of days on the job, ask some of the following questions to help focus your work and set goals. • What are the top priorities for the company and our team? This question is vital to your success. If you think their priorities are XZY but they are really ABC, all of your work may be in vain. Also, ask which projects take top priority. You need to learn to budget your time. • How do you prefer to communicate and approve projects? Establishing a strong communication pattern with your boss will save you endless headaches and wasted time. If your supervisor is not one for interruptions, they may get upset if you keep dropping [...]

25 06, 2009

Here’s the Story of a Lovely Lady…

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-07T00:28:10+00:00June 25, 2009|business, entrepreneurs, Real You Incorporated, speaker, women, women in business|Comments Off on Here’s the Story of a Lovely Lady…

…who was bringing up three very lovely girls. For many years Carol Brady was a classic American female icon and many women could and still can relate to her. But while many of us cannot afford to hire our very own housekeeper named Alice, you can now visit Alice.com! For all you multi-tasking moms and busy entrepreneurs out there, there is a new site to help you save time and money. Eliminating the middleman, Alice.com allows you to shop directly from the manufacturer to help cut down costs. Other money and time saving features include free shipping (and fuel savings because you don’t have to drive to the store), price comparison charts and coupon clipping with discounts taken off automatically at the checkout. Alice.com also keeps track of what products you buy and sends you reminders when its time to restock. You are also able [...]

24 06, 2009

Help Save Ohio Libraries

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-07T00:28:15+00:00June 24, 2009|business, entrepreneurs, passions, Real You Incorporated, Rouda|Comments Off on Help Save Ohio Libraries

As a book lover and author, this news of library funding cuts breaks my heart, but we can all do our part to save Ohio libraries! What’s happening: On June 19, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland proposed a budget cut that would reduce state funding for public libraries by $227.3 million in 2010 and 2011 fiscal years. This reduction would cut Ohio’s public libraries funding 30 percent in addition to the 20 percent cut due to the decline of the state’s General Revenue Fund. A total 50 percent cut in funding. What it means: As a result, branches may close, hours of operation will be reduced, new book and material orders will be halted and other vital summer reading programs and services would end. With the economic hardships that thousands of Ohioans are facing, trips to the library have provided some relief for families, and I [...]

23 06, 2009

Personal Recommendations Beat Out Online Sources

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-07T00:28:20+00:00June 23, 2009|authors, branding, entrepreneurs, Real You Incorporated, speaker, women, women in business|Comments Off on Personal Recommendations Beat Out Online Sources

As I was reading my daily marketing news, I ran across a study that found most online purchasers bought because of a personal recommendation from a friend/relative (34%), followed by spouse/partner (25%), then a blogger (5%) and a chat room (5%). Truly, this is no surprise to me. Personal, one-on-one connections are gems. These are the people you trust and depend on. If Oprah tweeted, “Acai is amazing”, but my friend Jane said, “I tried it and it’s not worth the price,” I’d go with Jane. Sorry, Oprah. If you’re out there trying to make a splash in cyberspace, get the movers and shakers talking online and off. And talk to women! Women, your most valuable consumers, are twice as likely as men to recommend a product/service to a friend. Start with a core group of “sneezers”, as Seth Godin calls them. These are influential [...]

19 06, 2009

Top 10 Reasons to Love Friday

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-07T00:28:36+00:00June 19, 2009|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Top 10 Reasons to Love Friday

No. 10. It is the day you have the best chance of procrastinating. If your boss dumps a project in your lap today, you know you have the weekend to complete it, at least. It’s a great day for all around phrases such as, “I’ll get to that next week” or “Wow, sounds like a great thing to tackle on Monday.” (I should point out for my globally minded readers that in Saudi Arabia and Iran, Friday is the last day of the weekend, and Saturday starts the work week. So there you have it, or as the British say: “And, Bob’s your uncle.”) No. 9. Friday is the derived from “day of Venus”, and whether that means anything to you or not, it seems apropos that in the United States, we’ve adopted something of a Casual Friday in the corporate world [...]

17 06, 2009

Businesses Use Twitter to Engage Customers Online

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-07T00:28:46+00:00June 17, 2009|ads, advertising, social media, twitter, twitter marketing, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Businesses Use Twitter to Engage Customers Online

If you haven't jumped on the social media bandwagon, hop on! More and more companies are coming up with creative ways to engage their customers online. According to Marketing VOX, a recent study indicates that more than eight in 10 Twitter users, most of which represent small businesses, expect their company's use of Twitter to increase in the next six months. And if you know me, you know how much I love Twitter and believe in its power. Nestle is taking an interesting approach to get moms talking about their product. The company is running a Juicy Juice ad that asks questions like: “How do you help your child shine a little more every day?" and "How do you stimulate your child's mind?" If you go to CafeMom and BabyCenter, you can tweet your answer, and it will be live on the ad, wherever it’s [...]

12 06, 2009

It is time to commence.

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-07T00:28:57+00:00June 12, 2009|celebrate, Real You Incorporated, speaker|Comments Off on It is time to commence.

This year, I have two kids achieving milestones. My 8th grader's recognition ceremony was yesterday, ending his middle school years and celebrating his move to the "big house" of high school. And my high school senior will graduate next weekend and head to Chapman University in the fall. Commencement speeches are no doubt hard to write and hard to deliver with power. There are infamous examples of famous people who delivered bombs—and famous people who delivered eloquent still oft-recited commencement addresses. To me, the point of any commencement address is to inspire those in attendance to be the best they can be—as individuals and as part of the greater community. And with that, I will share Mr. Bruce Brombacher's theme with you. Mr. Brombacher has been a middle school math teacher since 1976 and is considered the patriarch and heart of Jones Middle School. He [...]

10 06, 2009

Self-Bailout Contest for Small Businesses

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-07T00:29:04+00:00June 10, 2009|contests, Office Depot, small business|Comments Off on Self-Bailout Contest for Small Businesses

Survival of the smartest! Office Depot is awarding more than $1,000,000 in prizes in the Office Depot—Adopt a Small Business Contest. 500 small businesses will win more than $2,000 in prizes! Want to enter? Upload a two-minute video about what your business is doing to survive during these hard times and how Office Depot can help you get through the challenges. The entry deadline is 11:59 PM EDT on July 31, 2009. Click here to enter. By entering the contest, you have a chance to win $1,300 Office Depot gift card, one year of Tech DepotTM services tech support ($599.00 value) and $110 gift card toward copying, printing and shipping services. Gotta love free tech support and gift cards. For official contest rules, click here. Good luck!

9 06, 2009

Summer (Business) Reading Recommendations

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-07T00:29:10+00:00June 9, 2009|authors, best books award, entreprising women, PINK Magazine, vacation|Comments Off on Summer (Business) Reading Recommendations

Summertime is here! And that means choosing a few great books (or magazines) to take along on vacations…to help your business. Here are a few recommendations: Marketing to Women: How to Understand, Reach and Increase Your Share of the World’s Largest Market Segment by Marti Barletta How to Run Your Business Like a Girl: Successful Strategies from Entrepreneurial Women Who Made it Happen by Cogswell Baskin Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler. One woman entrepreneur swears the book saved her partnership. The Naked Truth: A Working Women’s Manifesto on Business and What Really Matters by Margaret A. Hefernan If reading magazines is more your style, try: PINK Magazine Inc. Ad Age Fast Company Enterprising Women And of course my summer favorite, Gift from the Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. It always gives [...]

8 06, 2009

Finding the right entrepreneurial community for you

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-07T01:45:40+00:00June 8, 2009|connections, e-newsletter, friends, membership, networking, women's communities|Comments Off on Finding the right entrepreneurial community for you

Finding a women’s community that is just what you’re looking for can often take some time. To help you out, I’ve listed a few different online women’s communities that I think are fantastic. Startup Princess—Startup Princess is a community where women can grow together while learning from one another. If you are looking for a fairy godmother (mentor), this is the place. The site is full of stories from women just like you. Features on the site include a blog, directory of women-owned businesses, videos and more. They recently featured me in a blog post. (Thanks, Kelly!) Savor the Success—Here women come together and share trials and tribulations about business and life. You can connect with other members through blogs, message boards and events. For those living in the New York or California area, there are chapter events you can attend. Find a chapter near [...]

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