Friday, December 9, 2016

OVER TIME YOU & YOUR BUSINESS WILL CHANGE

2016 - A YEAR OF TRANSFORMATION

A NOTE TO BLOG READERS:  This is a continuation of a message that starts off in our bi-weekly newsletter hence the reference within the body of this blog post.




Hi Friends,

I am going to take a moment to share from the heart of what it is like to be a successful business owner when you are faced with life-changing experiences that cause you to fall out of love with your business to the point of loosing your passion for what you have done for so many years. 



I realize this is the first newsletter I have sent out in quite some time, in fact for some of you, it may be the first one you have received in well over a year, perhaps longer.  This is why I want to share with you my experiences in recent years - I promise - it won't be too long or 'heavy' - and it won't be too personal.  Some people thought I closed my doors and understandably so.  The truth is, life threw me some unexpected curve balls that took me completely off in a separate direction.

You see, the last few years I have experienced a lot of change that actually had me questioning whether or not I was on the right track with my professional and personal life.  Quite frankly, these years have been transformational to say the least.  I was working on a two-year cyberviolence research project for Prince Edward Island that occupied much of my time, plus I was doing quite a bit of work in the Agriculture sector.  I was also dealing with a serious personal health issue where my quality of life was significantly diminished.  Fortunately, I have fully recovered and this has made me realize just how precious life is and is the key motivator for me to launch a new community called Wome On The Move.

During this time period, I have to be completely honest, I fell out of love with Sweet Spot Marketing Canada and felt I could no longer continue operating that business, so I completely stopped that portion of the business in Fall 2015. What I did love and felt excited and enthused about was providing skills training and empowerment programs. This side of my business has actually opened up new exciting opportunities that has allowed me to expand my business operations beyond the borders of Prince Edward Island and Atlantic Canada. I have always enjoyed lifting and elevating the lives of others, helping them to reach their dreams and destiny whether for personal, business, or a combination of both.

Meanwhile, 2016 has been a year of complete transformation for me, of which I will share bits and pieces over time. The long and short of it is, I worked part-time finishing off the Cyberviolence Research project which is a very meaningful piece of work but also very emotionally draining due to the nature of the subject. I went from thinking I was going to have to retire from working at the age of 45 to reaching pretty much a full recovery of which myself and my specialist cannot explain other than to say I believe there was divine intervention, I was crazy enough to accept the offer to run in a political nomination which I honestly have to say was on of the BEST experiences of my life.  The results of everything I have been through over the past few years, especially this year, I have never felt more focused, excited and filled with passion. There are an abundance of opportunities waiting for me since doing a soft relaunch of my business this year.

The purpose of this blog post was to share with you from the heart, that as an Entrepreneur and Small Business Owner,  I know what it is like to reach the highs and lows in your business.  2013 and 2014 were my best years in sales.  I was expanding the business and hiring contract trainers within the Maritimes and I was excited about where the company was going, although this was right around the time I started having medical complications and we really didn't know what was taking place until November 2014 when everything came to a halt and a crash.  It took from November 2014 to April 2016 to work through to a full recovery.  During this time I worked part time and as you can imagine it completely changed the direction of my life and my business.

I am a full believer that things happen for a reason and I do believe I was meant to travel down the path of success to end up having my life completely re-directed, because now I have a new appreciation and understanding for my life purpose and my business.

I can only tell you that during this year (2016), after my full recovery in February/March/April, I have entered into a space of complete clarity and focus. I spent a lot of time refocusing and repositioning Sweet Spot Academy, with the help of Fresh Media. In fact, the company has been renamed to Sweet Spot Academy as our focus is primarily business and digital skills training, with a  strong focus on small group training and empowerment programs, and I have launched a new community called Women On The Move.

If you have made it this far in reading this blog post - thank you for staying with me, I appreciate you taking the time to read the full post.  If you have similar experiences, I would be very interested in hearing from you to share your story.  If you feel you are stuck and in a rut and need some help getting out of it, I would appreciate the opportunity to work with you.

In closing, I wish to thank all of you for visiting my business blog, taking an interest and sincerely wishing you much peace and abundance in your personal, professional and business life.


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NANCY BETH is the President & Executive Consultant at Sweet Spot Academy.

At Sweet Spot Academy, we solve and simplify "HOW" to keep your business moving forward by offering a suite of know-how based business training and empowerment programs.  We focus on small group workshops and customized training programs.

Our customized business growth and skills training programs provide the inspiration, motivation and strategic KNOW-HOW knowledge that helps you and your staff confidently implement your business development growth plans.

Thursday, December 8, 2016

START THE YEAR OFF RIGHT! MAKE DREAMS HAPPEN IN 2017

There is something about the beginning of a new year that brings renewed excitement in our professional and personal lives.  Many of us have dreams, goals and aspirations for the year to come. 

As Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners setting goals is the easy part in getting the job done, but it's only half of what is needed.  The other side is developing strategy and action plans that are practical for our business, then actually executing on those plans.

This is where Sweet Spot Academy comes in.  We've been in business since 2008 helping entrepreneurs, small businesses and NGO's stay on task and on-time.  We work with companies and individuals in developing strategy plans that make sense for their business, then work along side as a business coach to ensure those plans are moved into action.

Starting January 2017, we have three new group coaching programs that will help you start the year off right so you can make dreams happen in 2017.  We are also launching a newly revised business services and coaching programs guide which you can take advantage of immediately.  If you would like to get to work this December so you are ahead in the game, we are prepared to buckle down with you to help you accomplish your goals. December is the perfect time for many individuals and businesses to start planning for a successful new year. Below lists the programs we are hosting in January and February 2017.  Also included is access to our new Business Services & Coaching Programs Guide

We are dedicated to your success!  Join us in 2017 for these interactive highly engaging and action oriented business skills training programs, or get started this December with one of our Sweet Spot Academy Business Growth Coaches



FUNDAMENTALS OF SALES & SELLING
  |  REGISTER NOW

There is mounting pressure facing salespeople in today’s tough economy, yet many sales people and customer service professionals do not have a solid foundation or understanding of the fundamentals of sales and selling.  


In this two-day highly interactive professional selling skills workshop, you will be equipped with the tools and techniques needed to achieve sales success and improve personal performance. During this program, you will receive a road map of the entire sales process covering every phase of the selling process. As a participant, you will practice and develop the enhanced listening and state-of-the-art prospecting skills you need to succeed as a professional salesperson in a unique business climate. 



THE FRESH MARKETING BOOTCAMP  |  REGISTER NOW


The Fresh Marketing Bootcamp is a two-day Marketing and Business Development Planning workshop. It is for entrepreneurs and small businesses that have been in business for two plus years, are ready to work with a small business development coach, and are serious about implementing strategic sales, marketing and business development methodologies, processes and systems.



WOMEN ON THE MOVE:  LIVE YOUR DREAMS - LOVE YOUR LIFE 
 REGISTER NOW
We all have ideas just sitting around collecting dust in our mind. We think about our good ideas, daydream about them, we may even take small steps towards making them a reality.  


The fact is our ideas need support and action in order to grow and thrive. The Live Your Dreams Love Your Life workshop is designed to give you and your ideas the perfect growth environment.


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                                 BUSINESS SERVICES & COACHING PROGRAMS


To access our business services and coaching programs, click on the image on the left side of the screen, and you will be taken to a Google Document which outlines our scaleable programs and services.   To book a discovery call, or for further information, click on the 'contact' image on your right to be taken to our online contact form.


         



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NANCY BETH is the President & Executive Consultant at Sweet Spot Academy.

At Sweet Spot Academy, we solve and simplify "HOW" to keep your business moving forward by offering a suite of know-how based business training and empowerment programs.  We focus on small group workshops and customized training programs.

Our customized business growth and skills training programs provide the inspiration, motivation and strategic KNOW-HOW knowledge that helps you and your staff confidently implement your business development growth plans.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

8 Steps To Developing Your Social Media Strategy







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NANCY BETH is the President & Executive Consultant at Sweet Spot Academy.

At Sweet Spot Academy, we solve and simplify "HOW" to keep your business moving forward by offering a suite of know-how based business training and empowerment programs.  We focus on small group workshops and customized training programs.

Our customized business growth and skills training programs provide the inspiration, motivation and strategic KNOW-HOW knowledge that helps you and your staff confidently implement your business development growth plans.


Fresh Marketing Bootcamp #FreshMarketingBootcamp






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NANCY BETH is the President & Executive Consultant at Sweet Spot Academy.

At Sweet Spot Academy, we solve and simplify "HOW" to keep your business moving forward by offering a suite of know-how based business training and empowerment programs.  We focus on small group workshops and customized training programs.

Our customized business growth and skills training programs provide the inspiration, motivation and strategic KNOW-HOW knowledge that helps you and your staff confidently implement your business development growth plans.


Friday, July 22, 2016

Should I Use Location Based Applications for the Check-In Feature? #AskSweetSpot

Hi Friends - Today on Cyber Safety Friday, Nancy Beth answers the question:

 "Should I use location based applications to use the 'Check-In feature'.

I am of two minds - as a digital market it's a great way to get free name-mentions and exposure across the social web. However, from a personal safety perspective you do put yourself, your friends, and family at risk.

Take a moment to watch the video and feel free to provide some input and to ask further questions.




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NANCY BETH is the President & Executive Consultant at Sweet Spot Academy.

At Sweet Spot Academy, we solve and simplify "HOW" to keep your business moving forward by offering a suite of know-how based business training and empowerment programs.  We focus on small group workshops and customized training programs.

Our customized business growth and skills training programs provide the inspiration, motivation and strategic KNOW-HOW knowledge that helps you and your staff confidently implement your business development growth plans.


Thursday, July 21, 2016

Which Digital & Social Media Platforms Should I Use? #AskSweetSpot




Hi Folks. It’s Digital & Social Web Thursday’s on Ask The Expert Broadcasts.  Today I am answering the question: 




While this is a basic question, it is a really good one because more often than you would think, individuals and companies are establishing themselves on a platform without giving any thought to strategy or whether their audience base hangs out there.  In answering this question, there are four questions I want you to write down that you really need to answer for yourself as follows:  

1)    First and foremost, what are your business reasons for using digital and social media? In other words, what are your overall business and marketing goals,and  what do you hope to achieve?

2)    How will using digital and social media help you accomplish those goals?  It really comes down to strategy before tactics.

3)    Where are your consumer audiences hanging out online? Where are they gathering to connect and socialize?


4)    What conversations are they having:  What are they talking about? What questions are they are asking? What referrals are they making? What key words and phrases are they using, what hashtags are they using.      

To answer these questions, I am going to provide some digital images below that will provide some guidance in how to go about answering them.  Meanwhile, I'll share with you, I am hosting one day workshops on "The 8 Steps To Developing Your Social Media Strategy" in late August and early September in Prince Edward Island, at Summerside Regional Development Corporation in Summerside and The Spot in Charlottetown.  I'll include the workshop overview below and will be announcing the workshop shop dates next week. This is an awesome program that will help you develop practical social media strategy and tactical plans that will help you connect and engage with your target audiences. 




This concludes our Ask The Expert Broadcast for Thursday, July 21st.  Please send in your questions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and email and be sure to use the hashtag  #AskSweetSpot   

Here's to your success - and make it a great day! 
Nancy Beth Guptill, President & Executive Consultant at Sweet Spot Academy









If you are ready to start working with a Business Digital Coach, please visit Sweet Spot Academy website and fill out the online contact form: 

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NANCY BETH is the President & Executive Consultant at Sweet Spot Academy.

At Sweet Spot Academy, we solve and simplify "HOW" to keep your business moving forward by offering a suite of know-how based business training and empowerment programs.  We focus on small group workshops and customized training programs.

Our customized business growth and skills training programs provide the inspiration, motivation and strategic KNOW-HOW knowledge that helps you and your staff confidently implement your business development growth plans.