New Year - New Focus

Well we are kicking off the new year with some solid business and personal planning, after all, without a map we won't know where we are going or when we get there!  My big goal is to keep life in balance.  This means between personal, Alpacas, Consulting and Send Out Cards.  One thing I have to learn how to do is to reach out more with my website, blogs, networking sites, etc.  This means one goal in place is to add some web content at least once a week.  This can be in the form of a blog entry, video, or even a significant website modification.  So what this means for you it I "should" be more regular in my blogging.  I have kept a topics list for things to blog about but topics get so old, I don't think I can go back.

Another thing we are researching is to do a weekly (bi-monthly?) podcast.  The content for this podcast would be very similar to my blog, meaning everything that is going on in life.  But I'd be sure to include a useful tidbit every week for alpaca enthusiasts.  I'd keep it under 30 minutes a week.. Any comments?

In other activity around the ranch, we attended the second annual Alpaca Show at the National Western Stock show last weekend.  For those who don't know, the stock show is a BIG deal.  In Colorado it gets more attention than the state fair.  No rides, but turkey legs and funnel cakes.  Also it is worth noting that it is a National show, so daily there are exhibitors and visitors from all over the country.  The show has been going on for 110 years.  Two years ago Alpacas were designated as livestock (previously classified as exotics), and as such are now allowed to show at the Stock Show.  The show was smaller than most of the shows we participate in and was not AOBA (our national breed association) certified, so some of the rules were different, but we took two animals and brought home two ribbons, so no complaints there.  Ultimately though the show was a fantastic marketing event and we did get a number of marketing leads.  We don't usually get those at a regular show.  Now to follow up!

So here is some of that old news I was talking about.  We went to a "Sales Conference" in December.  It was a day and a half, and fantastic!  I never really realized that I have never been trained in "sales" since I've never been in a direct selling job before.  Mike knew more of the content, but we both came away with a sense that we need to do a better job of keeping those strategies in front of us (following up being one).  2009 was a year of learning.  2010 will be a year of implementing, staying focused on our goals, pushing ourselves beyond our comfort zone and building strong healthy businesses!

Now... how to add that podcast....