Saturday, March 31, 2012

We need your help! @indiebusiness

Hey Pookalitas! It's the weekend, and I am so ready, but before I
go, I want to help you end your week with a little small business
inspiration -- and a request to help Donna Maria Coles Johnson,
a women's entrepreneurial coach and my own mentor,
by leaving a quick comment at her video blog post meeting
with the editor-at-large of Black Enterprise Magazine!

The deadline is March 31 (tomorrow), so please comment short
and sweet!


If she gets enough comments on her blog post, she will win a trip to
the Black Enterprise Entrepreneur's Conference where I'll be speaking.

So, could you swing by her blog today and watch
a bit of the video and leav a comment? Please? Pretty please?
Not only it is a great blog post and video, but if she wins,
I get to hang out with her in Chicago in May. Selfish, I know.

OK, so ready, set, GO Post!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Farewell to a great month with @blackenterprise #31daysonbe


So here are 10 very simple things that have been reinforced this month......

1. If you want to succeed in business you MUST embrace Social Media!
2. Perserverance pays off.
3. You will meet many people in your business endeavors, respect others and have a good attitude, how you treat people comes back to you.
4. @blackenterprise Rocks!
5. Prayer works!
6. Smile its contagious.
7. Blue suede shoes have power, LOL!
8. Say Thank You.
9. Be open to your blessings.
10. GOD IS GOOD!
As I retire my fabulous blue suede pumps and reflect on this amazing month, all I can say is THANK YOU! The blessings, well wishes, congragtulations, hugs, prayers, kisses, celebrations and gifts that I’ve received this month have been overwhelming. I AM BLESSED to have loving supportive people in my life!  GOD is GOOD!



Monday, March 26, 2012

Our @blackenterprise NY Cover Party Pics! #31daysonbe

To say that we had a great time would be an understatement!  Our NY celebration was Friday night at Katra Lounge.  So many people came out to support, celebrate and Par-tay!  This month just keeps getting better and better and I’ve still got one week left so....today I rest cause tomorrow, I’m sure THERE’s More!  #31daysonbe


http://w

Thursday, March 22, 2012

My @blackenterprise Invitation from the President!! #31daysonbe!


I am truly honored on this day of my #31daysonbe!  I received this invitation from the president of Black Enterprise! I will be a panelist for the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference and Expo! Chicago, HERE I COME!!!!


Sunday, March 18, 2012

My @blackenterprise Radio Tour #31daysonbe









Well the month is flying by, I can't believe we're at Day 18 on the #31daysonbe journey.  I have been able to experience so many things and meet so many people.  And just like every other day, Day 18 was filled with blessings......




This week was my radio tour!  It was a short tour but a great one, LOL!  Friday night we had the honor of being on 900AM WURD  philly radio! It was a great interview by Dr. Richard M. Cooper.  It was easy, comfortable interview and I felt like I was talking to an old friend! I was so happy to be able to spread the Pooka love in Philly!  We even talked about having Philly Day at the Pooka Boutique so stay tuned!  


Part 2 of the tour was on 98.7 KissFM, we were blessed to be on the The Toya Beasely show! She was wonderful and was so helpful in helping us spread the word to the tri-state area.  It was so much fun, what a great experience to be at the radio station and see how the broadcast is done!  Toya blessed us and let us tell our story, Donna went with me and Toya made sure she got on the mic too(that's radio talk, people!)


Now its Sunday night and my radio tour has come to an end...for now!  Days 17 and 18 are topping the charts of #31daysonbe!  Lots to come, so....stay tuned! (in my best radio dj voice!)



Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Guess what we got?! #31daysonbe










I like to call this day, Gift Day!!! This was a great day!  First we got a surprise visit from our Pooka Tech Crew and they brought a beautiful cake with a picture of...Yup, that cover!












It was a really nice treat in the day!  Then the postman dropped by with a great gift fromExecutees! Awesome company, they actually did the shirts for Oprahs 25th Anniversary celebration and were thoughtful enough to send each pookalita a congratulatory shirt!!


















Gift Day was definitely a good one, how am I ever going to go back to being me next month, LOL!!!

Sunday, March 11, 2012

My next Magazine Cover!!! #31daysonBE








This month is going great!  Today, I was in the boutique working and the door opens and in runs about 12 kids! They just run towards the counter, I’m thinking, “Is this a flash mob? LOL!”.  So I start screaming, “Hey, hey whats going on guys?” One young lady steps up and says, “You spoke at our career day at Park Avenue School and we wanted to say, hi!!”  I was blown away, what a nice start to the day.  They also said that I told them that they could start their own businesses too.  I was touched.  This is what it’s all about, our youth!  What was funny was they saw the cover of the Black Enterprise and one young lady says, “That’s nice but what other covers are you on?!” Wow, that brought me back to earth LOL!! It did make me think about what other covers I’d like to be on one day... so here’s my list and remember you need to put a LOL at the end of each one!.
1. Vogue -hmmm I could represent the new generation of “older, seasoned” supermodels
2. In Style - I'm more than fashionable enough(some days.....)
3. Travel & Leisure - Fresh back from #IndieCruise, surely, I qualify
4. Bon Appetit - I eat enough ...
5. Success - I'm successful, right? I'm on a magazine cover after all ...
6. Spa - I sell spa products, therefore, I'm in!
7. People - I'm a person
8. Real Simple - I love the magazine and this is what I would love my life to be, real simple!
9. Essence - I'm an African American woman so I qualify!
10. Self Magazine - I take good care of myself, as evidenced by the level of success I have achieved despite a health issue. I am thankful.
So, what do you think? What magazine covers would you like to be on?
























Students from Park Avenue School, East Orange, NJ!

Thursday, March 8, 2012

5 cool people in March @blackenterprise #31daysonbe









Well I don’t even know what day it is anymore, LOL!  Today was good!  Yesterday I was on Michael Baisden and just in case you missed it he’s going to play it again today.  We had a contest on Facebook to see how many times I said Pooka on the air but it was a quick interview so the answer was........one :-(   
Great news we found a great place for our Black Enterprise NY Cover Party!  Save the date, March 23 at Katra Lounge, NYC more details to come. 

Things have been busy and the website orders have been good, so its perfect timing that today we hired a full time production manager #excited!
Lastly, as usual while stalking newsstands to see if I’m still on there I decided to actually read from cover to cover since I was standing there hoping to be noticed and 5 people stood out to me in this months issue: 

Todd Pemberton! He’s doing amazing things through his company Bugs are Gone! @BugsAreGone His motto, “Everyone deserves a second chance!”

@MarioArmstrong A digital lifestlye expert! Inspires and educates people on how to use technology to change your life and business!

Sree Sreenivasan @sree Great insight into small businesses and social media!
“small businesses have a rare opportunity to play on the same field as the big names, thanks to social media”
Techy Marcia Wade Talbert @thetechgyrl Gives a small business a hardware makeover! Great hardware reccommendations for your brick and mortar! Where do I sign up?!
Sakina Spruell @keepingitrich Shows you have to build wealth for life! I need to read this at least  6 times, LOL!


Stay tuned tomorrow for more great news!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

How @blackenterprise got us on The Michael Baisden show today! #31daysonBE









Morning Pooka family! I am up and ready for another great #31daysonBE!  I think its going to be a good one!  Today we’re sending press releases and products to everyone from Michelle Obama to Joel Osteen!  

We received an email after Black Enterprise from the
Michael Baisden show, so today we’re going on air!  We have been on the show before and one thing I can say about Micahel Baisden is he is very supportive of Black Busineses!  He heard about us years ago and reached out to us!  We’ve made sure to keep the lines of communication open!
Since the 1st day of contact, I’ve made sure to join MB’s
Mingle City social network 
and keep him posted on what we’re up to!  I tweet him
@baisdenlive
, I’m on his Fanpage, I guess you can say we’re business stalkers, LOL. 
Make sure to catch us on the show today from 3-7pm!
Lets have some fun, count the number of times I say Pooka on the air today and post it on the  the Pooka fanpage! I’ll send some Pooka to the first correct person to post!! Start Counting!!!
Go here to find your local station to tune in to the Micahel Baisden show
If Michael Baisden isn’t in your area listen online here.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

You don't know about @blackenterprise?? Let me tell you! #31daysonbe








Well it’s official I’ve been all over my town and probably yours swiping copies of Black Enterprise! I went to a small newsstand and asked for their copies and do you know what they said? “What’s Black Enterprise? Never heard of it!!!” Are you kidding me!!


  1. Black Enterprise has over 527,655 million readers!
  2. Black Enterprise is 42 years old!
  3. The very 1st cover subject was Mississippi Mayor Charles Evers He was an example of the ingenuity and determination needed to run black-owned businesses such as the Medgar Evers Shopping Center, named in honor of his late brother, a prominent civil rights leader slain by an assassin in 1963.
  4. Black Enterprise magazine got President Barack Obamas’ first print interview
    1. BE is a social butterfly!
  5. BE has an active FaceBook Page with 43,000 fans and growing! It's a super place to connect with like minded business owners. Check it ou here https://www.facebook.com/BLACKENTERPRISE
  6. Alfred Edmond Jr. is the Sr.VP/Editor-at-Large and one super guy to follow on Twitter. He Tweets interesting stuff about business, along with motivational messages that are sure to inspire you to new heights. Follow him here! @AlfredEdmundjr. (His Twitter bio says he's "superhuman" too, so call him on that one! :)
  7. Black Enterprise will host the Black Entrepreneur's Conference & Expo this coming May in Chicago. Get more information here http://www.blackenterprise.com/events/entrepreneurs-conference/ec-registration/. Be sure to check the site regularly for other events hosted by the magazine. They offer some great stuff, including an annual Golf & Tennis Challenge.
  8. Black Enterprise has it's own iPad app! That's right, it features their exclusive Wealth for Life content to help you gain financial security, advance in your career, or be your own boss. Get the complete issue of the magazine plus streaming video, slideshows, and much more in an interactive experience. Download it on iTunes here http://itunes.apple.com/ie/app/black-enterprise-wealth-for/id385822656?mt=8#
  9. Well, I came up with 9, so now it's your turn. What did I miss? What do you know and love about Black Enterprise Magazine? Share your favorite things about this amazing publication, so we can make sure we check it out!
Now next time I drop by that newsstand he better know, LOL!! As for me this was a great day again! I was contacted by 2 radio-dj's for possible interviews and I'll be on Michael Baisden on Wed, so tune in!!!

Monday, March 5, 2012

Top 10 Twitter tips that could land you on a cover! #31daysonBE - DAY 4








Well Day 4 was all about R&R! Its been a roller coaster ride since I returned from my vacation on Friday and started riding the BE wave, LOL!! So today was a great day to stay home and just relax! Of course, even relaxing includes my lap top and some work. I've been getting so many emails from folks wondering how exactly I was able to land the cover! First off, I know it was prayer and favor! It was also a direct result of a tweet, so I put together the Top 10 twitter tips that COULD (and I say COULD people, LOL!) land you a cover or at least some great opportunities!


Use hash tags. Hash tags are hyperlinked words preceded by a pound sign, making it easy for poeple Tweeting about that topic to find and meet each other. They are often used for events, so people in attendance (or not) can keep up with each other and with the activities surrounding the event. For example, I just returned from Indie Cruise, and we use #IndieCruise in our Tweets so we can find and ReTweet each other's Tweets, and share photos and blog posts. If you attend an online or offline event, find out what the hast tag is and use it. You'll meet some like-minded people, and your sphere of influence will expand.


Participate in Twitter chats. Twitter chats are online events on Twitter where a host features a guest and/or a guest topic during a specific time frame. Two popular Twitter charts are #SmallBizChat and #BlogChat (note the hash tags, see above). The conversations are always interesting and you learn something new every time. You also meet fun new people and find new friends to follow on Twitter. Note: attending Twitter chats is a nice thing to do, but it won't increase your realm of influence on Twitter. You can only do that by participating.)


Post photos with your Tweets. People like to click things. Text Tweets are OK, but they are not shared nearly as much as Tweets with links to blog posts and especially to photos. People love clicking to see photos of everything from what you had for desert to your family vacation at the beach. Post photos to meet new people and share fun stuff.


Be a positive influence. No one likes a sour puss. Make special efforts to be positive and post positive information. If your Tweets make people smile, they generally want more of you, so be a positive influence and positive things will happen.


Update your Twitter avatar and bio. Be sure to update things as necessary so you don't become stale. People like to see things change a bit now and then. Keep your Twitter page fresh and fun, and you'll continuously appeal to people. Make sure your Twitter bio includes a link to your site, a link to other Twitter pages you use, and a professional description of what you do. It's a lot to fit into a small space, but you can do it!


pastedGraphic.pdf
Follow back! Make sure if someone follows you, follow them! you never know who they know and who they’re connected too PLUS...it’s just polite, LOL!


Re-Tweet! If you see a great tweet from someone, re-tweet it, the more you RT others the more you’ll get re-tweeted! So many people say, “I have nothing to tweet about!” Well Re-tweeting is a least a way to stay current on twitter until you get your own conversations goin!


Check out some lists - Go to some of your favorite tweeters and check out their lists, it will help you to find other great folks you should be following! I found some great folks to follow from other peoples lists!


Connect yourself!
If your looking to grow your brand, make sure your tweets direct folks to other places they can find you! Think of twitter as an airport and you’re connecting to your blog, your webpage, your facebook! Let folks know how big of a social media presence you have!!! Now just make sure when folks arrive at the social destination theres something good going on there, LOL!


and the number one twitter tip for me is.....drumroll!

Build your network! We all have a close network of personal friends, well you should have twitter BFF’s too! The ones who will look out for tweets that are of interest to you, about you, or that you need to respond too! who are my twitter BFF’s you ask? @indiebusiness @themassagemogul @deecmarshall @soapcoach @yumyumcandle @marybphoto @keepingitrich

Day 4 was great, I spent the day remembering my #indiecruise and spreading my toes by the pool, aahhhh....



Sunday, March 4, 2012

Why Yes! I Will Autograph Your @BlackEnterprise Magazine! #31daysonbe









Well Day 3 was AMAZING!!!
We had a cover signing at the Pooka Boutique! You know when you're having one of those moments where you just think to yourself, "Is this really happening?!" Thats the kind of day it was! So I'm loving Day 3! Can it get any better?? I'm being optimistic, YES!!!






















Since being featured on the cover of the March 2012 issue of Black Enterprise Magazine, I have been asked by people all over the country whether I am available to autograph copies. The answer is a resounding YES! In fact, here I am autographing one now.
All you have to do to get your copy autographed is send it to my offices.

Enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope suitable for return shipping,
and I will be happy to autograph it and send it back to you.

The address to us is:
15 South Essex Avenue
Orange, NJ 07050

Please allow a month for turnaround.

Thank you for your interest and support!

Friday, March 2, 2012

#31daysonBE - DAY 2









Well everybody today is the end of day 2!! I acutally did my own newstand tour and hit a couple of newstands and made the cashiers take my picture! A friend asked me, “What did the cashiers say when they realized it was you on the cover?” well the exact response was, “You want a bag for these?!” Celebrity status is not appreciated by everyone, LOL!!!







Today was the first day back to Pooka from my trip and it felt like I never left at all! I spent the day making calls and doing follow up, while setting up for our Champagne & Cake toast tomorrow evening!

I was asked to speak at Dee Marshalls' Win, Rock & Rule Womens Empowerment, so I was very excited! I also had a great conversation with two of my business mentors, Shariff James and Lance Knowling. I think I’m going to do a podcast this month with all of the folks who help Pooka stay on track, so stay tuned for that!

Now its time to settle down and get to my social media tasks including scheduling tweets, which a lot of folks don’t do! Ever wonder how people tweet all day long? Who has the time?! You can schedule your tweets for an entire month if you want. Dedicate one hour and schedule your tweets for the week then focus your time on something else! I use hootsuite to schedule my tweets. You can also try time.ly

And lastly, something very cool happened today! Bittersweet Cake Design, LLC surprised us with some cookies for the event tomorrow!!! How cool is that!!
























See ya tomorrow!! I promise no pictures of newsstands or me tomorrow!! (well maybe just a few!)



Thursday, March 1, 2012

#31daysonBE - DAY 1










WoooooooHoooooooo!! That was my exact reaction plus a lot of tears when I found out I’d been chosen for the cover of the March is of Black Enterprise Magazine! What a blessing! GOD is good!! So how did it all begin??? Well, years ago my mother gave birth to a baby girl..Okay, we won’t go that far back!! Through a twitter exchange, I was chosen to answer some questions about the use of social media for our business and had a great interview with a reporter and from there it was on! I thought it was going to be an online story, then they called and said they were sending a photographer, then they said I was being considered for the cover! Check out my behind the scenes video of the shoot! This has been a nail biting month, googling and trying to get any glimpse of the issue. Then last week, a friend congratulated me on making the cover, to which I replied, “We won’t know until next week, if we were chosen.” and he said, “Well its on their fanpage!” This was followed by screaming, crying, yelling, jumping and praying prayers of thanks!


I was actually booked on #IndieCruise, for women in the beauty biz and had to leave before the issue came out! I traveled with my Indie/Beauty that Cares Sister Handmade Soap Coach. It was nerve wracking being away, but I got same great support and ideas on how to maximize exposure from my Indie Beauty Sisters! The Indie Beauty Network and founder Donna Maria Coles Johnson have been a great source of support for Pooka from the very beginning! My Indie sisters also had to stop me from swimming ashore to get a copy! It was a long(but restful) week!


So, today is March 1st and I’m at the airport in Miami and I am starting to see all kinds of tweets and texts from friends that they’ve seen the cover on newsstands! I have not seen, nor do I have a copy yet!!!! I CAN’T WAIT! So as I ran through the airport, I stopped at every newsstand in Miami and NO COVER!!!! Do you know WHO I AM?(obviously they don’t know or care, LOL boooo Miami!) So now I’m patiently awaiting the flight to Newark where I know they will have copies of Black Enterprise lining the runway for me!!

So the Pookalitas, my parents, my brother DOUGLAS(who says I never mention him), Cathy and crew have been holding it down since I was gone and now I’m reading all the emails........


Day 1!!
We were featured on essenceonline.com! Its a post about Black Beauty Entrepreneurs! Nice!


We were contacted by Black Enterprise to do a live chat! We’ll let you know the details!


We were also contacted by The Michael Baisden show to be on the show!! Michael Baisden has been a big supporter of our Pooka Journey. We’ll be on the show Wed. March 7


We’re planning our Cover/Book signing for this Saturday at the Pooka Boutique, so make sure you drop by for some Cake and Sparklin Cider!

We had a twitter party this week led by The massage mogul! Thanks Robert!

We’re asking all of our Pooka family (that means you) to join our facebook page and check in! We want to see our cover all over the country so pick up a copy, take a pic and post it with your city and state!

Well we’re in Newark Airport......off the plane.........running through the airport, WHERE AM I?? WHERE AM I??? OMGoodness, there I am, okay now I’m crying! Thank you Jesus, What a blessing!!!!!

Make sure to follow #31daysonBe and stay updated!