A trip to Las Vegas in February isn’t just about WPPI anymore. It’s about adding new building blocks to your business and some of them are outside WPPI programming. For two years I’ve started every marketing presentation with the same statement.

Just because the media says it’s going to be a bad year, doesn’t mean it has to be!

That’s a big part of the GoingPro theme and Bootcamp. We started the project because there are so many aspiring photographers interested in going pro and missing the boat on the right way to get started. Frustrated, they jump into the market with lousy quality and low-ball pricing. Instead of building a business on a solid foundation, they try and build it on the word “professional”, having no understanding of the importance of how to sustain a business.

Well, it’s been two years since we started the GoingPro, which originally was just a book with Random House. Now it’s a blog with an estimated 50,000 followers and sixty-four podcasts, resulting in 120-150,000 downloads a month. Last but not least, it’s our second Bootcamp, an all day event helping you with everything, but photography.

George missed the last GoingPro Bootcamp, but we didn’t and neither did a 100+ aspiring and working professional photographers. He’s got another chance and so do you! With the combination of Michele Celentano, Scott Bourne and me we’ll help you with ideas on marketing, pricing, building your business, insurance, social media, community involvement and local networking, just to name a few. Most important of all, we’ll help you figure out how to promote yourself and your work so you can get your second customer.

Anybody can get their first customer. The trick of building a solid business is getting your second customer and even better, getting the first customer to come back a second time. You know how to focus your camera. Well, we’re going to help you focus on concepts like quality, value, integrity and the ability to exceed customer expectations. Those are the key attributes of any business that brings customers back!

And speaking of exceeding expectations – that’s just what we intend to do on February 18. It’s only $99 for the day. So, whether you’re just getting ready to take the plunge into the pro side of the business or you’ve been out there for a few years and need some help – we intend to exceed your expectations. 

See you in Vegas! Signing up for GoingPro Bootcamp is just a click away!

Living closer, we get to spend a lot more time together and there’s a never-ending stream of conversations about business. Today’s business meaning of words like trust, integrity, confidence and creativity have never changed, even though the way we communicate today has. Dad didn’t have Twitter, but he did have a telephone. He didn’t have a lot of conventions to network, but he did have time to meet people, talk to potential clients and a firm handshake. He didn’t have workshops to go to, but he did have books to read and ideas to share with his associates over lunch.

So, I hope you enjoy Pop’s encore performance. As you think about 2012 – everything he talks about is so relevant! Like he said to me so many years ago,

Just watch the left front fender!

Yesterday was my 88^th birthday.  I have been happily retired for many years, and unemployed for at least 15 of those. Now, out of the blue, comes our son, Skip, threatening me with employment! The pay he considers adequate is $.02 per word. So gathering together, my 50+ years in business experience, I thought this would be a good time to put my two cents in.

I am not a plagiarist, but I must quote my father who spent the last months of his life writing advice to his children:

 “Conduct your business in an upright manner and remember, the most important thing in one’s life is to be honest with one’s self. Maintain the high standard and dignity that your business requires. Do not go into deals hastily and be visible in your business as much of the time as is possible.  If you take time to play, do it away from your business, because your livelihood needs all the attention you can give to it.”

Early on, I concluded that the best testimonials came from my many friendly competitors.  We didn’t really compete with each other, in the true sense. True, we were in the same field of endeavor, but we all knew we were there to help each other. Happily, the “tough competition” fell by the wayside.  I remember giving Skip driving lessons and I told him, “Watch the left front fender…..the rest will take care of itself!”  I’ve found this is really true of everything in life.

An old axiom says “If you tell the truth, you never have to remember what you said.”  That is all part of reputation-building. I found that, sadly, in the field of real estate, truth is hard to come by for many. In our case, it was a major building block in the reputation which we enjoyed, and helped us to thwart the competition.

Goodwill is all of the above, plus a lot of caring for your clients as well as your competitors.  If life is a give-and-take situation, giving is the more important of the two.  The taking will come with time and be far more appreciative.  Just remember – you heard it here!  Ralph Cohen, Founder and Creator of Skip Cohen!

For most of you this is a down week. The Christmas orders are out and you’re hopefully finding time to just kick back, enjoy your family and here and there think about the new year.  Find some time this week to think about your business in terms of the services you offer.  Are there opportunities for add-on sales? Can you increase your average sales with add-on products and add-on value?

When I was at Polaroid, back when Polaroid was a Fortune 500 company,  I was involved in a series of consumer surveys for product development.  The surveys repeatedly showed that consumer satisfaction for a product dramatically increased with the number of accessories available.  As a result, when Polaroid launched the Spectra camera, it was a complete system.  There was a full line of accessories including self-timers, cable releases, albums, bags, table top tripods and even Cokin filters, just to name a few.

You’ll find the exact same philosophy with most of the major consumer purchases we make today, especially in consumer electronics.   Photography isn’t any different and if you’re only offering your clients an album and a few different options on print packages then you’re missing the boat.

Let’s beef up what you’re offering your clients starting with online hosting and slide shows.  (The crew as SmugMug is ready to help you completely change the look of your site and get your images in a presentation that screams, “I’m a professional!”) Then let’s move into all the hard goods available.  Albums of every color, shape and size are out there.  (We were just in Italy last month and were blown away by what Album Epoca has in their lineup!) One of a kind table top books like the Asukabook line give you another outstanding direction to offer clients a quality product that’s different.   Frames are an outstanding add-on sale.

A canvas print becomes an amazing enhancement for those one or two special images from a wedding, a portrait sitting or children’s shoot.  And, while it might not be for every client, purses, bags and backpacks with the kid’s pictures on them are outstanding add-ons from a children’s shoot.  How about the types of images you present?  Sure, there’s black and white and color, but how about the look of infrared, special effects and cross-processing? (Ever notice there are an infinite number of combinations of plug-ins you can use, thanks to Kubota Image Tools?) And there are hundreds of different things to print on, including metal, whether you’re doing it yourself or working with your lab.

And don’t laugh, take a look at novelty products.    There are some outstanding items out there, from mugs to mouse pads!   For those of you who are purists and hate the idea, I’m not saying you need to be out there selling coffee mugs with the bride and groom’s face on them, but what an incredible marketing tool.  What a way to make a great client laugh and remember how much fun they had at the engagement shoot with you, when you send them a matched set of coffee mugs with their pictures on them!

I’m tired of hearing photographers complain about “Uncle Harry” stealing business.  I’m not saying the Uncle Harrys of the world don’t create problems, but they don’t have access to the hundreds of products and companies that make up the professional photographic market.  As a professional photographer you’ve got virtual exclusivity when it comes to the broadest most diverse selection of add-on products from the finest group of manufacturers in the history of photography!

When you put it all together add-on sales create added perceived value and in the end create higher customer satisfaction and return business, but best of all, it helps add to your bottom line!

Okay, so that was written almost two years ago and the potential for add-on sales hasn’t changed.  If we’ve learned nothing else from MacDonalds, try their approach in your selling skills with every client and simply ask, “You want fries with that?”

We all do it, including yours truly. We want everything to be exactly right, so we wait and plan and make excuses why the idea isn’t fully baked yet.  My most favorite business quote is from Zig Ziglar and I’ve used it before:

If you wait for all the lights to be green you’ll never get started on your journey!

As 2012 approaches, you might be thinking about making some resolutions. I have a suggestion. Don’t forget the business resolutions! And while there are many you might make, here’s one I think you SHOULD make. Vow to stop planning, stop dreaming, stop waiting and start DOING!

I’d love for your New Year’s resolution to be: “I’m going to stop thinking I need one more lens, or one more class with _________ (fill in the blank) or one more marketing seminar or one more photo for my portfolio, or one more re-design of my logo. STOP! Stop using all these crutches to give yourself a reason to put off what you know in your heart you should be doing. Put down the remote, turn off the TV, get yourself up off the couch, step away from the computer, go take a shower, make yourself presentable, put on your best set of clothes and go out and knock on doors. Pound the pavement. Smile and dial. Go meet people. Go ask people to hire you. Go network. Go show your portfolio. Stop thinking about it, praying about it, planning to do it and just go actually EXECUTE. Go forth and ask for business – NOW. Not tomorrow. Not later this afternoon. DO IT NOW!

There’s no time like the present for a clean slate. Don’t worry about what you DON’T have, start counting the assets you DO have and put them to work asking for that next order. Find a prospect, turn them into a client, do the work they need and do it well, deliver it well and on time, thank them for the business, ask for a referral, follow up to see if they need more help and repeat.

How’s that for a resolution?

I’m rooting for you. Scott Bourne

We’re living in the age of instant gratification. We text, we tweet, we abbreviate. Our spelling has become absurd, phonetically attacking a conversation for the sole purpose of packing a full paragraph into just 140 characters. Photographers have become “togs” & sum things R gr8 2 reed others rn’t.

We eat on the run, multi-tasking and getting a little work done so we can justify stepping away from the biz at lunch time. MacDonalds has two lines for the drive-in window and we can order combo meals, making the decision-making process even faster when it comes to the barrage of possibilities for our low nutrition intake of garbage.

New photographers, sorry “togs” jump into the market thinking because they understand Photoshop they’re perfectly capable of being a professional photographer. They shoot with wild abandon with a mindset, “No problem. I’ll fix it later in Photoshop!” The truth is, no matter what your skill set, if it’s a lousy image there’s one fundamental rule of nature, “You can’t buff a turd!”

The reality is that you can’t Tweet quality. There are no shortcuts to creating outstanding images. There are no shortcuts to building a relationship with your clients. There are no shortcuts to great marketing. All of this leaves me with one sentiment – it’s time for many of you to just slow down!

If you’re one of those shortcut, overnight, buy a camera and just add Photoshop photographers, here’s where you’re missing some incredible opportunities:

• You’re doing yourself a huge disservice and leaving a lot of great revenue on the table. A great series of images shown to an excited client has the potential to create not only more sales from the original job, but additional sales as your client shows your work to their friends.
• You’re doing your client a disservice, but not “being all you can be”. Yeah, it’s the US Army’s slogan, but it’s so dead-on, for every profession. You can’t compromise on being the best at what you do. When you present images that exceed a client’s expectations the excitement and goodwill you’ll be a part of will take your pride and theirs to a completely new level.
• You’re slowly undermining the credibility of an entire industry. The other night on the local news was a consumer protection story where a woman wrote to the TV station for help getting her wedding images. Look, mistakes happen and there are always extenuating circumstances, but when what should be a quietly resolved customer service issue gets so out of control the local news media gets involved, the business entity just didn’t do their job!  Think about the number of people who watched the story and got a bad impression about professional photographers. Even worse, think about the credibility boost the story just gave to all the Uncle Harrys and all that gear they just bought!
• You’re making it harder to build your business than it has to be. Anybody can get their first customer. The trick is to get the second, third and fourth customers along with getting that first customer to come back. Being a successful photographer is about building trust with your clients.  When that trust is violated the entire model collapses. On the other hand, when you exceed a client’s expectations you’ve got a customer for life, not to mention one more member of your word-of-mouth publicity machine.

Okay, so let’s end this little rant this morning with a few suggestions. Slow it down and pay attention to the quality of your images and the quality of your relationships. Build your business one client at a time and treat every client as if they were the only person who was ever going to pay you for your skill set as a photographer.

Focus on being the very best photographer with a mindset that Rangefinder Magazine wants to do a story about you, but you told them to wait until you had the images you wanted!   And as always, NEVER compromise!

You’re part of an amazing industry and there’s help every step of the way, providing you respect and love the craft.  And trust me, if you respect the craft, there is no way to describe the return on your investment!

Yesterday I got an email from Bob Bell at United Funding.  I’ve never met Bob, nor do I have any kind of relationship with his company. I got the letter because I’m on the attendee list from last year’s Imaging USA show.  What Bob didn’t know when he sent it out was how timely his information was.  His topic of equipment financing couldn’t have been more appropriate to attendance at upcoming shows, equipment needs for professional photographers, the challenges of the economy or, for that matter, a series of previous posts I’ve written about expenses and financing.

His email was short and sweet, just two paragraphs long – no hard sell, just some great information:

We at United Funding, the PPA Affinity Partner for equipment financing for over ten years, talk to professional photographers every day, and realize many have been limping along with older gear due to the economy.  We have seen a significant uptick in activity in September and October and I hope it’s a positive sign for all of us.

There’s more good news.  There is a little known provision in the tax code designed to help small businesses like yours acquire new equipment.  It’s called IRS Code Section 179 and it allows you to write off 100% of the cost of new equipment placed into service by the end of the year.  Our lease and loan products qualify for this deduction.  So, you get the best of both worlds.  You get to expense the entire cost of the equipment but only have to come up with a few payments.  Keep in mind this is a, “use it or lose it” opportunity.  Once you ring in the New Year, the deduction is gone.  Here’s an example:

Equipment Cost: $10,000  Monthly Payment for 48 months: $300

Tax Savings: Assuming a 25% marginal tax rate: $2500

That was Bob’s entire pitch. None of the usual “you’re almost out of time” approach, just some incredibly valuable information to help you find another way to upgrade equipment as you go into 2012.  He closed with a link to a financing application. So, here’s that link.

Don’t be thrown by the PPA logo if you’re not a PPA member. I called Bob and spoke to him about the program. While there are obviously qualifiers, you don’t have to be a member of PPA to qualify for a United Funding package.  So, knowing that, here’s what I wish every photographer in need of gear would do - just take the time to understand your options. It doesn’t cost you anything except a few minutes of your time.

Years ago at Hasselblad we had a great leasing program with a buy-out option and the tag line in the ad campaign was,  “Now you can utilize our assets without depleting yours!”  The economy has been tough the last few years and it’ll continue to create challenges. At the very least you owe it to yourself to understand all of your options, especially when it comes to cash flow and maximizing your deductions while minimizing your cost to do business.

It’s not rocket science – just feels like it some times!

The challenge really goes a lot deeper. Most photographers are artists not bookeepers and as a result, tend to not think about everything they spend money on in relation to their business.  Proof of the challenge lies with every photographer who instead of charging what they’re worth or what an image really costs them, sets the price just a few dollars above their lab cost. After all, the lab only charged them a few dollars for that 8×10 or 5×7!

I’ve written a lot about this, but there’s no such thing as writing too much about your cost to do business. So, as you get ready to bring this year to a close, let’s take a look at some of the things that should be on your expense list, as well as considered when you’re trying to establish your retail pricing.

1) The obvious is all your gear, including memory cards, camera bags, software and supplies. Everything it takes you to run  your business should be on the list.

2) Services you require to run your business are so often overlooked. It’s not just your lab, album or frame companies you work with. If you have a home office or studio, check with your accountant on how much of your home expenses can be deducted, including your cell phone, computer lines, insurance, mortgage or rent etc.  Did you have any gear repaired this year? Again, the expense is probably deductible.

3) All of your travel expenses as they related to income would also be worth asking about. Even if you were reimbursed by your client, you still have a right to deduct the expenses. Again, I’m not an accountant, but at least ask the questions.

4) Workshops, webinars and programs you paid for to build your skill set as a photographer all apply to the cost of doing business. For example, if you went to PPE and were from out of town, you’ve got expenses for travel, lodging, meals etc.

5) Spend any money on advertising and marketing this year? How about new features you might have added to your website or social media efforts? What about magazines you subscribe to that relate to your business and associations you belong to that are photographic or business based?

Here’s Scott’’s original post:

With the end of the year upon us, it’s time to start thinking about getting your records together for the tax man.

In the USA, you can deduct certain business expenses to reduce your tax obligation. Camera gear comes to mind. This MAY be the excuse you’ve needed to get your spouse to go along with that new camera body or lens 

So how does it work? Let me be clear. I am not an accountant. I am going to tell you what my accountant tells me to do. Then you should check with your own.

The gist of it is simple. Gear that lasts more than a year can be depreciated each year or in one lump sum. You will probably need to file a Schedule C if you want to write it off in one lump sum.

In my case, looking at my income this year, I can either pay tax or get new gear and take a deduction. It’s a no brainer. Time to buy some super fast glass for my hybrid cameras!

All I want to do is get you thinking about what it really costs to run your business beyond the obvious expenses.  Scott hit on the issue of being able to write-off your camera gear, but don’t forget everything else it takes for you to be a professional photographer!

There’s been a lot written about things you can do to build your business. I’ve written about it, we’ve written about it on GoingPro and recently I ran across this post on Photofocus by my good buddy, Scott Bourne.  We live in an instant fulfillment society with too many photographers wanting it all right now. Wanting it all isn’t so bad, but thinking that your business is going to just grow because you hung out your shingle will never create the traffic or brand awareness you hope to have!

The sad part of this scenario is that so often the things you need to do to grow your business are relatively simple, yet people don’t bother to follow through and do them.  Some are more time consuming than others, but seriously, very little is rocket science.

Right now we’re at the start of the fourth quarter. It’s the perfect time to be thinking about things you’re going to do to kick off the new year and build brand awareness for you, your company and your skill set!

If you are a pro or going pro, you have probably realized that the business side of photography is just like any other business. It’s hard work. I’ve been at it a while and I’ve compiled this list to help you grow RIGHT NOW.

1. Own Your Own Zip Code

Don’t spend another second worrying about becoming a nationally-known photo rock star. Don’t worry about breaking out onto the national photo speaking circuit. Don’t worry about trying to get on Oprah. Just worry about owning your own zip code. It doesn’t matter where you live, YOU should be the photographer that everyone knows and talks about in your own zip code. It’s feasible, even in large cities, to knock on every single door within one zip code. It’s possible to phone or meet everyone who lives near you. So do it. If you’re like most people, you shop and spend your time and money on basic entertainment and services in your own zip code. Make sure each of the places you patronize knows you’re a professional photographer. Get THAT business first. Then expand to the next zip code and the next and the next. Most famous rock bands didn’t start playing the Coliseum. They started playing in the local bar.

2. Show What You Want to Sell

I cannot believe how many times I’ve been called into consult with a studio that wants to expand or solve a cash flow problem or to just generally become more successful, only to see that they aren’t showing the work they want to sell. One photographer came to me with his portfolio full of great looking nature shots. Problem…he ran a wedding studio. It may seem like common sense and you’d think that everyone knows this but they don’t. Show what you want to sell. If you want to sell baby portraits then have lots of baby pictures in your portfolio. But don’t stop there. Make sure that if you prefer a canvas look, only display canvas gallery wraps in your studio. People will buy what you show them. If you’re not selling the products you want, chances are, you’re not showing it to them.

3. Network Like Crazy

Are you a member of your local PRSA (Public Relations Society of America), Lions Club or Rotary Club? How about the Chamber of Commerce? Do you volunteer at the Local YWCA or YMCA?

Networking is the best way to grow your business. You will meet new people who don’t know you or your work. This gives you the opportunity to show your stuff and clients a chance to see what you’re made of. Volunteering to be the group’s newsletter photographer or website photo editor will give you a chance to really demonstrate what you can do. When people around you find out how great you are, the jobs will follow.

4. Avoid Time Stealers

Wasting time is one of the biggest mistakes emerging pros make. Don’t spend time doing things you don’t do well. If you’re not a trained accountant, don’t do your own accounting. Hire a part-time bookkeeper. It will take them less time than it will take you and they’ll do a better job. You take ALL that time you would have been doing the books, and spend it marketing your services. This applies to everything you do. If you’re not the expert, find the expert and hire him/her. Then spend that time doing the job you WANT to do, which is making photographs.

This rule also applies to friends and family. Resist the urge to meet with pals for a coffee every morning. Meet them AFTER work. Spend your work time working and your play time playing. Don’t let anything steal your time. Once it’s gone, it’s gone and you can’t get it back. Think about what could have been accomplished during that half hour if you’d spent it on the phone contacting editors to discuss your latest photo expedition and the images you made.

5. Charge More Money

It’s a simple fact…most photographers undercharge for their services. In a down economy, it’s tempting to think that lowering prices is the way to attract or save new business. It’s not. In fact, it’s the worst thing you can do. In a down economy there are only two groups who survive, and only one of them really thrives. The folks at rock bottom survive. They typically price their work so low that they get lots of jobs, but they work so hard to make the money, you could hardly describe what they do as thriving. On the other end of the scale is the group that not only survives, but thrives. The high-end is where the money is and in any economy, there are always people who want the best. The photographers charging the most money get the best chance for this business.

The real problem is that most people are stuck in the middle. And that’s the worst place to be. Particularly in a down economy, consumers flee the middle.

So be honest with yourself and decide whether you’re really being fairly compensated.

CONCLUSION

It’s not easy to run a business, let alone a photography business. But you can do it and do it well if it’s your destiny. I hope you’ll give these ideas a try. They worked for me and I think they can work for you. Scott Bourne ]]> http://skipsphotonetwork.com/2011/10/how2-series-five-things-you-can-do-right-now-to-grow-your-photography-business-by-scott-bourne/feed/ 0 http://skipsphotonetwork.com/2011/04/pwspi-a-new-benefit-for-all-professional-photographers/ http://skipsphotonetwork.com/2011/04/pwspi-a-new-benefit-for-all-professional-photographers/#comments Tue, 26 Apr 2011 10:00:23 +0000 http://skipsphotonetwork.com/?p=6690

Last year we had an idea and decided to launch our own association. No, let’s correct that, we wanted to start your association. We got the site up and running, started to tweet and within a day had the industry wondering what in the world we were doing. After all, the last thing anybody would think photography needed was another association. 

We started to ramp up and realized we’d underestimated what it takes for the data management side, as well as our ability to provide what most associations provide, more benefits. Along came PMA with a strong focus on the industry and new directions to utilize their expertise, data bases and membership.

The relationship became the ideal partnership. We had the knowledge of this side of the industry, PMA had the ability to help us manage the membership. We turned the association over to PMA on the condition that we would continue to provide content and work to build awareness and more benefits.

Thanks to PMA we added a significant list of benefits, including the most difficult to access, some of the insurance needs. We went to work with some of our vendors and now there’s a whole series of discount programs and extras exclusive to PWSPI membership from Animoto, Bay Photo, Image Rights, Stuck in Customs, Cantrell Couture and Skip’s Summer School.

But last week we realized something, what we started out to build with our incredible advisory team, Clay Blackmore, Bambi Cantrell, Jerry Ghionis, Kevin Kubota and Tamara Lackey was really starting to look like every other association out there. What originally made PWSPI different was me and Scott, because we’re everything but being like other association management teams.

So, effective today, we’re launching a completely new benefit: personal marketing/business consulting for every member of PWSPI.

Every PWSPI member, both new and existing, gets free marketing support from the two founders of the association, photographic, marketing and business experts, Scott and me!  All you have to do is email us your contact information, specifically where you’d like us to call, at: PWSPImembership@pmai.org. We’ll schedule a time for a conversation to help you focus on more than just your subjects!  Every member is entitled to one free telephone consulting conversation.

We started PWSPI because we believe so strongly in this industry. Our experiences from GoingPro as well as our 75 years combined lifetimes in photography have repeatedly shown, even the most seasoned photographers need help now and then, most often on the marketing and business side.

Many photographers, especially those new to the industry, are tempted to think they’re alone dealing with the challenges! Well, you’re not alone anymore!

Joining PWSPI is just a click away.

• You don’t have to react to every distraction.  There are people who will come into your life, often dozens of times each day, without knocking.  They just appear in an email or phone call and want instant gratification.  You can’t please everybody and years ago Bill Cosby wrote:  “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.”
• Make a list. Personally, I’m back to hand-written lists.  The app on my Blackberry and my computer isn’t enough. Writing it out long hand forces me to retain it longer in my memory banks.  Here’s where I wish I had all the brain cells I lost at a concert in the 70’s! A written list helps me stay focused and I actually cross off each item as I finish it, giving me these great little bursts of accomplishment.
• Establish priorities!  This is the hardest of all.  It’s impossible some times trying to isolate the most important aspects of your business on a daily basis, but if you knock off one really important thing every day it makes a difference.
• Long term vs short term: Everything in your business has a value.  Some items are just a flash in the pan, others require the skills of a slow-cooker.  Balance your day with projects that are both.
• Make decisions! I worked for somebody once who couldn’t make a decision.  He’d ponder for so long that often the original opportunity was gone.  The old rule I was given years ago with my first management job was, “Handle every piece of paper only once!” Well, we’re not shuffling paper like we used to, but we are shuffling ideas, communications and projects.  You can’t walk down the middle of the road without getting “squished like a grape”. (Check out this one minute classic from the original Karate Kid – it’s still a great movie to watch!)

• And most important of all, take time to step back.  That could mean literally moving ten feet away from your computer screen or taking a walk around the block or just taking a day off.  You have to recognize when you’re about to crash and burn and take the steps to avoid losing perspective.

I’m not sure anybody has all the answers.  For me personally, the biggest challenge of the day, every day, is staying focused. I hate it when things get backed up and at the end of the day I feel like I’ve got nothing but a collection of unfinished projects.  The most important thing is to remember, you’re only one person. You can’t do it all – only your best and for anyone who decides that’s not good enough it’s time to move them out of your thought process.

Oprah gets the credit for this one: “Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment!”

Happy Wednesday everybody – and wishing you all a happy, healthy and wonderful Thanksgiving eve!