Book Review: Faith Leaps

     I “met” Alyssa online a couple of years ago and have followed her ever since for a few reasons. One is because her website has a lot of purple (which I read in the book is her favorite color! Woo-Hoo!) but mostly because everything she does is what I want to do…I want to be Alyssa when I grow up!  HA HA.  No seriously, she truly inspires me to go for what God has called me to do and especially so in this book.

     She takes you step by step on how to take something you are passionate about and use it to make a profit.  As I read it, it was like she was telling me “Christie, you know all of this…now do it!”  I have been too scared to step out and go for what God has called me to do.  Yes, I have made baby steps but have jumped back into the boat numerous times because I was unsure…I didn’t trust my ability and I definitely didn’t want to get wet!  Well, I am not going to allow my lack of certainty keep me from doing what I know I am supposed to be doing.

 

 

     God’s timing is always perfect and I truly believe that He allowed me to review this book so He could show me what I can do. These dreams He has placed in my heart have been dormant for too long and it is high time to get them out and get going. One chapter in particular, I will be using to make a checklist (yes, I do love my checklists) of ideas to help me get to where I am supposed to be.

     The book officially launches TODAY and in celebration, Alyssa is hosting a launch party on Facebook and a fantastic special PLUS bonuses on her website if you order TODAY!

     If you are serious about taking a Faith Leap and doing something that God has called you to do, then I advise you to read this book.

 

Creation Expo Ticket Giveaway

Announcing the first ever Ultimate Creation Expo from the same folks who bring us The Ultimate Homeschool Expo, The Ultimate Special Needs Expo and more! You know how great their other expos are so this one is bound to be just as amazing and full of great info as well as TONS of door prizes! During this expo, speakers will be sharing ways to teach your child about the science of creation that are fun so that you and your child will remember them.
There will be live workshops that you can listen to right from your computer but if you can’t be there during that time, it’s ok! As a ticket holder, you have access to ALL of the recorded sessions! This is my FAVORITE way to go! The ticket is only $19.97 and includes so much more…check out what you get with your ticket here: ULTIMATE CREATION EXPO TICKET.

Guess what?  Media Angels has given me TWO tickets to give away to my readers! This drawing ends WEDNESDAY, JAN 18 @ 2pm CST so be sure to enter by then. You will win one ticket to the expo. Here is what you do to enter.  You will get 1 entry for each item completed.

1. Leave a comment here telling me why you want to win.

2. Go LIKE my Facebook Page and write on my wall.

3. Follow me on Twitter and tweet me.

4. Fill out this form: Ultimate Creation Expo Tickets Giveaway

Good luck!  I will announce the winners Wednesday night.

Happy Monday

Today was my 4th Monday of not having my daycare kids here…oddly enough though, it was the FIRST one that I have not had somewhere to go since I closed. I did get up this morning and head out for my walk and then spent some time enjoying coffee with the King outside at the picnic table before getting social media posts scheduled for my clients and some things done around the house. It was nice to be able to stay home all day long. My kids liked it too.  You see, for the past 3 weeks, they have had to eat sandwiches for lunch everyday…not that there is anything wrong with that but my kids are used to a nice home cooked meal at lunch time. Today I made them chicken alfredo and they were happy.

We will have this whole week to get everything ready for when we start our full school schedule next week.  I plan on sharing our school activities right here so be sure to check them out.

Now, I am working on my grocery list by checking My Memphis Mommy to see where I can get my best deals this week. Happy savings!!

Freedom to Hurt

For the past few days, I have had something on my mind and I need to just get it out so here I am pouring out my heart about it.

I love social media but I have noticed that lately people post terribly demeaning things about people not realizing that it is hurting them…or maybe they do realize but don’t really care.
What is it about the news sites that attract people that want to gossip, bash and insult each other? I understand that we are all allowed an opinion, but when you start insinuating things about people, especially dead people, without thinking about how it is affecting them or their family members,  you have just gone too far.

Another thing I have gotten very upset about lately is people posting ugly comments or pictures of strangers they see in public.  It is just plain mean! I don’t understand why someone feels the need to insult someone that they don’t even know.  It got me so worked up the other day that I called my husband almost in tears because of something someone posted.

Maybe I have become more compassionate…I don’t know.  I just try to think about how I would feel if someone was posting these things about me or someone I love.  Let’s all try to think before we post…and try to be more Christ like.

Thanks for listening to my heart and please share with your friends.

No Connection

I think it is kind of ironic what I am about to tell you about…I have had no connection lately.  Christie Jarvis Connects has not been connected! It’s true! My internet connection at home has been absolutely terrible and I have been having to do the best I can to get what I needed done using my Droid or if I really HAD to do something using the computer, taking advantage of my daughter’s Palm Pixie built in mobile hot spot.  My Verizon wireless broadband has not been working as well as it should since one of the storms we had in May.  I called Verizon about it and was told that there were no known issues and that I just live too far from the tower…well, I haven’t moved so that can’t be it. They finally called me back today to tell me that yes, in fact, the tower WAS knocked out by that storm in May and that was the reason I was not getting full signal anymore…HALLELUJAH! Since I kind of need to have a computer with Internet to actually DO my job well, I am very glad that they are working on this issue and will hopefully have it resolved soon.  I have still been able to update mine and my paying clients’ pages through the Hootsuite app on my Droid but as far as being able to get on my computer and work on projects…well, let me tell ya, it was bad.  My kids would walk in and I would be holding my computer up in the air like I was trying to offer it to God so I could get a little signal. It was worse than dial up! Hopefully I will be back up and running at full force soon. Thanks for sticking by me! This hasn’t stopped me from growing my business. I have taken on 2 new amazing clients in just the past few days that are so excited about working with me…the feeling is mutual.I know that everything happens for a reason and I hope that this little bump in the road that has slowed me down a little was just to prepare me for some mighty things to come!

Photo Tagging for Facebook Pages

I am SO excited about the latest addition to Facebook Fan Pages…you can now tag a business profile (Fan Page) in your photos! Now people will be able to tag my clients’ pages and when their friends look at the pictures will be able to click on the tag and come to the page.  This is going to be a great way to get new people to these pages.

So, do me a favor, IF you have any pics on your profile of businesses that I manage a Facebook page for, please start tagging those pics with the Fan Page profile.  I would really appreciate it!

Facebook Profile vs Fan Page

Yes, there is a difference and every time I see someone using a “personal profile” page as a business page, it makes me want to message them and tell them that they need to be careful because it is against Facebook terms to use a profile as a business.  They can come in and shut your page down and what happens to all of those friends you had?  THEY ARE GONE!  You would have to rebuild your contact list…that’s no good for your business is it?

What IS good for your business is a fan page that is updated regularly with plenty of interaction with your followers.  I hate seeing a business Facebook page that has not had any activity on it or has people asking questions and the business isn’t answering…looks like bad business to me!  I move on.

Want your business to be found by search engines??  Yeah, having a Facebook FAN page (not profile) will help with that! It’s because Fan pages are indexed by search engines. Profiles are not. As a business, you WANT people to find you, right???

What about when your business really takes off and everyone wants to be your “friend”??  Did you know that a personal page only allows you to have 5000 friends?  Well, that kind of limits your business growth now doesn’t it?

You can have ONE profile, yet manage many Facebook business pages…I manage a large number of them myself.

So, lesson here is this…if you want to grow a business, then act like a business and get a business page.

While you are on Facebook, be sure to join my Christie Jarvis Connects page where I share various tips I find.  It may be about saving money, fun educational ideas, recipes, events…ya never know what connections you will find!

You Are What You Post

Here is something I have had to say over and over again to people I know…You ARE what you post! You may think people don’t (or shouldn’t) judge you by what you post on Facebook and Twitter but they will.

Almost every night on the news there is a story about someone who got in trouble for something and they show their Facebook page and status info…of course they pick the ones that they think show how “troubled” the person is.  I have talked to some teenagers about some of the things I see them post.  I am told “it’s just a song lyric” and that is great but I know for a fact that someone can use that against them if they need to…that innocent song lyric will end up all over the evening news showing how horrible this person’s life must be.

And of course, the photos that are posted…oh my! Do you really want someone to do a Google search of your name and see some of the loony things you did and posted pics of?  Seriously people!  Think before you post. Even  though you think it is “nothing”, what you post gives people a certain impression of you.  Make sure it is a good one! Once it is posted, even if you delete it, someone has seen it and very possibly copied it and it will be forever on the world wide web for all to see.

I try to only post things that are uplifting and encouraging to others.  There is enough negativity in the world.  We don’t need to be bombarded with it on Facebook.

2012 Buick Verano Reveal

Tomorrow morning you can see the LIVE reveal of the 2012 Buick Verano right on their Facebook page.  They will be streaming live from the International Auto Show, Detroit (NAIAS) and when you LIKE their page, you will get to see it!!

PLUS…here’s a little secret that they asked me to share!  They will be holding random drawings to give away $2000 for those who are interacting during the Ustream session AND someone is going to win a BRAND NEW BUICK!

SO, be sure to go LIKE their Facebook page and then be there tomorrow (January 10th) at 9:15 ET for your chance to see the reveal, win $2000 and win a Buick!  Good luck!

Social Media Bandwagon

One of the things that I enjoy doing as a virtual assistant is help businesses jump on the social media bandwagon.  Often, the business owner really wants to get into the  world of Facebook, Twitter, blogging, etc, but just doesn’t have the time to dedicate to it so I get to do it for them.  I get to use the gift God gave me to connect and network which allows my clients to spend their time on their business! I can honestly say that I really love what I do.

If you are in business and would like to get on board with social networking but are not sure how to get started, let’s talk!