Peg Silloway

It was a lovely respite - 10 days on the lake in New Hampshire with beautiful days and deep, dark nights with loons calling across the water. If I hadn't been working on a project near to my heart, I would have relaxed more, but I knew it would be like that. It was a blessing of sorts that there's no Internet at the cabin, that we had to take our laptops to the local library to get and send email. Boy, does that focus your reading and writing!

But now we're home and getting into the rapid speed-up of the fall and winter. Now it is time for me to be like Marti, the AR guru of The Art of Marketing You. I've been watching and learning from him and the others on AR who say Blog! Tweet! Facebook! And so I'm starting to blog more. And I tweet as @McFrugal (of the Clan McFrugal, of course). And I'm on Facebook not once but twice. First, for myself and keeping up with family and friends. But now also as The Cat Lover's Book of Days for the book that comes out in October. With the help of a savvy young PR professional, there's even a fan page for the book now.

And that's where I learned another important lesson. You don't have to do it all yourself! I'm one of those who has never found it easy to delegate. I "knew" a fan page would be important. I figured I could do it myself, could understand the technology, and save some money. Wrong! I might have been able to figure it out, but probably not in time to be of any value. So through a referral I found someone who did it in a couple of days and continues to help with press releases and more.

There will always be more that needs doing than I can get done by myself. It takes me a while, but I'm learning from friends like Margaret Rome who find people like tech gurus to deal with the things that need doing, and that would otherwise take away from her incredible productivity. That's my new watchword: Outsource.

Now if only I could outsource sleeping, think how much more I could get done!!!

The Silloway Press
301-335-9368

Coming October 2009: The Cat Lover's Book of Days - read more about it on the Facebook Fan Page at http://tinyurl.com/nplppu.
Follow me on Twitter @McFrugal

Last year I was pretty upset about what was going on behind my Columbia, MD townhouse. It was necessary, I knew, but I was afraid that I would not see some small friends again. There had been a little stream that ran between houses, and the county determined it needed enclosing to direct runoff better. So for weeks it seemed there were large, noisy beasts galumphing along the stream, digging a trench, installing enormous concrete pipe, and then covering it all over.

That was fine. What wasn't fine was the removal of dense bushes and some trees that had lined the stream. They had to go for the work to proceed, but I knew that those same bushes were home to a couple of groundhogs, the neighborhood rabbit we named "Scamp", and the trees gave cover to cardinals, blue jays, and especially to ruby-throated hummingbirds. The occasional deer wandered by, too. I was afraid they were gone forever when the bushes were removed and some trees taken down.

It turns out nature is more forgiving than I am. The groundhogs have moved on, but I did see Scamp - or one of his cousins - earlier this year. And the hummingbirds are back! Not as many this year, but still, I have regular customers for my new and improved hummingbird feeder.

Which brings me to the new neighbors. A delightful young couple with a toddler and a baby soon to be born, the young man has generously offered to mow our tiny patch of lawn - a kindness I'm grateful for. Then one day he told us they had enjoyed watching the hummingbirds and would I like to see the photos he'd taken? Of course! And now you can see them, too. These tiny wonders of nature, like flying jewels, are one of the best parts of summer. And despite my fears, they are back for us - and our new neighbors - to enjoy.

Brian Hughes took these wonderful photos, and said I could share them with you.

At the beginning of April I went to one of those early morning networking events that I dread...but that I am usually glad I attended. Around here they are organized by the local chambers of commerce and draw 100+ people each time.

Have you ever been to one? It's a bit like speed dating. You start with breakfast at a table with 6 or 8 people, and as you eat you introduce yourself and your business, pass your cards around, and try to wake up enough to be coherent. After about half an hour the real fun begins. You move to a new table where each person has 90 seconds to do their elevator speech and pass their cards out. When everyone has had a go, you change tables and do it all again. Whew!

For a non-morning person this is not easy, especially since these shindigs generally start no later than 7:30 in the morning and usually require some travel time, too. But still I go a few times a year, as I did last month. With a stroke of good luck, I sat at a table for the breakfast part with a man who is a business coach and motivational speaker. I didn't realize it at the time, but when I talked about how people are publishing books as a way to differentiate themselves from the competition, he thought that was an intersting idea. I carry along a couple of books for visual aids (always a good idea in networking) - including Margaret Rome's Real Estate the Rome Way, of course.

A few days later John called and we met for coffee and conversation. Turns out he has been planning to write a series of short books, each focused on a success strategy - a perfect project for self-publishing. He's also a member of the Annapolis Motivational Speakers, a group of people in different professions but all with a motiviational speaking component. They invited me to come talk with them about publishing, so earlier this week I took myself, my laptop, and a collection of books to Annapolis for one of the most delightful events I've been to in a long time.

This amazing group has only been together for a short time, but they have created a network within their membership of friendship and encouragement. I've never felt so at ease with people I've just met, and the atmosphere was so warm and welcoming that I had nary a butterfly. They were an attentive, interactive, and appreciative audience. What more could you want? (If you are a motivational speaker in the Baltimore/Annapolis area, you should consider joining the group.)

Networking is a fact of life for all of us whether our business is real estate or publishing. It isn't always convenient, but it is always necessary. And as in this case, you never know where a good lead will come from. Besides, you might just find a delightful group of people whom you would never have met otherwise!

Publisher of: Real Estate the Rome Way by Margaret Rome
How to Sell Your Small Business by Rich Madzel
Create a Great Deal: The Art of Real Estate Negotiating by Tim Burrell (May, 2009)
The Cat Lover's Book of Days by Peg Silloway (October, 2009)

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