Simply Designed Life | Business, Lifestyle Design, and Productivity Tips From Women Entrepreneurs and Gamechangers

I first learned about Gabrielle Blair in an HGTV episode of International House Hunters way back 10 years ago when my husband and I were both still living in the Boston area. This was during the earlier stages of blogging and podcasting. I still remember having some abandoned blog from the old “Blogger” platform which in the digital world is considered ancient history! Fast forward to today and there are 19 million active blogs and 200,000 plus active podcasts (according to Hubspot). Who knew we’d be having a conversation about blogging still being like the Wild West in that there is no real standardization because of technology's constant changes. So why blog in the first place? Traditionally blog content was created to inspire, educate, or entertain (maybe a little bit of each). Back in the day, blogs consisted mostly of text and graphic images, although today they have more of a multimedia function. Content can be consumed in text, images, video, audio or a mix of these. All content is usually targeted towards a particular reader, audience, listener or “tribe” in Seth Godin terms. It’s also the start of a conversation or a way to connect with those you or your company's brand would aspire to connect with. It’s about making a difference, impact and in some way transformation, whether on a personal level or at a larger scale. I'm excited to share this conversation with Gabrielle as she was one of the early pioneers in the blogging world. She's been so generous in sharing all her experiences on parenting and designing a life, which is what we're all about here at Simply Designed Life podcast. I mean, how does one go abroad and live in another country with six kids? Tune in and find out in this episode! Who is Gabrielle? Gabrielle Stanley Blair is a founder of Alt Summit, the blockbuster bi-annual conference for lifestyle bloggers and creative entrepreneurs. She is also the founder of DesignMom.com which was named a Website of the Year by Time Magazine, and praised as a top parenting blog by The Wall Street Journal, Parents, and Better Homes & Gardens. Her first book, Design Mom: How to Live with Kids, a New York Times Bestseller, was published in 2015. On her website, Gabrielle covers the intersection of design and parenting, with thoughtful posts on topics like motherhood, family travel, picture books, food kids will really eat, and family-friendly design. Since moving back to the U.S. from France, Gabrielle and her husband Ben Blair, live with their six children — Ralph, Maude, Olive, Oscar, Betty and June — in Oakland, California. Quotes from Gabrielle But the conversations and comments—there’s few places, maybe no places like it on the internet where you have really smart women. My team has done some surveys and the women that read Design Mom are extraordinarily educated. This is like a much higher level of education than the average American. They’re really smart, they’re really forward thinking and a compassionate group too. So these comments sections, I rarely have to delete a trolly comment, it’s unusual. And the conversations are really good, and deep and not fluffy and not surface but just people sharing their experiences without judging the fellow commenters. It’s amazing. (9:49) I really try to be honest and let readers know, 'Hey, if the content is excellent this week on Design Mom, and I find I’m knocking it out of the ball park, then just assume my house is a wreck and you know, the laundry is piled up and we haven’t gone grocery shopping in way too long.' And that’s just the reality. And if my home is doing awesome, and I feel I have everything in order, then I’ve probably been more absent from the blog than I should be. I’ve worked out systems over the years... and even when I need to give my family attention, I have systems in place to keep the blog going. We’re certainly beyond those early stages, but still work life balance is a never ending thing, it’s an ongoing thing. (19:40)

Business and life are not linear at all. There are a lot of stops and starts in both. Trying something new will require a lot of courage as there’s a good chance you won’t get it right the first time. Mastering a new skill, a new habit, what have you will require that you leave the safety of your comfort zone and be open to learning something new. If you’re courageous and try something new, you’re going to learn that valuable lesson you’re supposed to learn, succeed or fail, swim or sink. If you learn in the process you need to pivot and change course, that’s okay because you’ve learned that valuable lesson along the way. That’s interesting because back in Episode 59 social media expert Sarah DeGeorge echoes when she talks about how to take a step back from your business and rebrand, get back on the bandwagon and put yourself out there again. The biggest takeaway from these conversations is, despite having a successful career, if there are other areas of your life that need attention, such as your health, it’s okay to take a step back and refocus your efforts. But don’t give up entirely, because if you do believe in your work, you should keep going because it is such a gift to the world and that persistence can help others who may feel doubt, who may not be as courageous, and who could use the lessons learned in their own growth. An example of this is with my conversations with married couple author Jennifer Miller and Entrepreneur Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Jason Pfifer. They discuss book and magazine publishing and the importance of not only producing great work but standing up for it. In this two-part conversation, Episode 57 and Episode 58 we learn about having the courage and confidence to stand up for your work, find the opportunity in every challenge that you encounter. Speaking of book publishing, we hear from McGraw Hill Editor, yoga instructor and lifestyle blogger Cheryl Ringer over on Episode 63 on how to get published, the importance of having a compelling hook and establishing a platform. She also dives into her productivity hacks for getting things done despite not drinking coffee which is amazing in my book! I love our conversation not only on book publishing but also her thoughts on yoga and meditation, which is great because I already feel relaxed talking about our conversation. Now if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed in that you probably love hearing all this great wisdom and getting the information to lead the best life you can, but you’ve got a busy work and family life, work and personal responsibilities, but still would like to implement digestible tips you could incorporate in your day to day to help you be more productive and set you up succeed, here are three tips. Listen to this episode to find out more! Resources Mentioned: Episode 57 057: Jennifer Miller and Jason Feifer Part I: On Storytelling & How to Thrive as a Creative Episode 58 058: Jennifer Miller and Jason Feifer Part II: On Opportunity Awareness + Work Life Blending Episode 59 059: Sarah DeGeorge: On How to Rebrand Your Business Episode 63 063: Cheryl Ringer on Traditional Book Publishing Other Listening Options: Individual player or full player view on website: http://lorirochino.com/podcast-2/

Have you ever shunned certain social media platforms because they just seem like such a waste of time? You may have found yourself endlessly scrolling on your Facebook feed not realizing that a day's gone by and you've just wasted some hours of your life! While many may see social media as a complete time waster—and let's face it, it can be if we're not intentional about how we use it—others have managed to leverage it pretty well, using it as a tool for lead generation and a source of potential revenue. How do you use social media the "right" way? We'll find out from our latest guest Karen Yankovich. But, before we get into the conversation, if you happen to be in the Philadelphia area the last weekend of April, I would love to connect with you! I'm presenting at the BlogConnect event April 29. BlogConnect is a conference about blogging for mid-level bloggers who want to learn more about blogging and social media, connect with like-minded folks, and are looking for some inspiration & motivation in their lives. Registration details are at lorirochino.com/events. Who is Karen? Karen Yankovich is President of Uplevel Media, a social media marketing agency delivering profitable cutting-edge digital strategies. Karen is an internationally recognized LinkedIn Evangelist and Social Media Consultant who is an expert at helping businesses use LinkedIn and a range of other social spaces profitably. Her newest venture, Get Seen Be Heard, provides social media and do-it-yourself PR training to 1000’s of members. A popular trainer and international speaker, Karen’s social media advice and expertise can be found in guest contributions to DailyWorth.com, Huffington Post, Social Media Examiner and Career Talk Radio on Sirius XM. Quotes from Karen LinkedIn is the place to start with digital marketing because it's the place that you can tell the world what you want them to know about you. And people are searching, we don't buy a paper clip without looking for a review, right? (4:15) As a marketer, it's really important to understand what your niche is. And I do a lot of speaking on LinkedIn all over the world, which I absolutely adore. And if somebody said, 'Hey, I need a social media speaker,' 50,000 names would get raised. If someone said, 'Hey, I need a LinkedIn speaker,' 10 people say, 'Call Karen.' The more narrow you can keep your market, the more quickly you're going to build your expertise and your business. (4:38) When you're doing what you love to do, and you're doing what you know you're really good at, you've gotta tell people that because that's where you need to be and that's where a profitable business happens. (18:25) One of the reasons why I did this, why I wanted to work for myself and work from home was because my kids were pretty much grown, but I had grandchildren on the horizon and I really wanted to be around for them... I'm able to do the things that I designed this life to do. (21:22) What You’ll Learn Her entrepreneurial journey starting in technology and transition towards the online marketing and social media space The importance of having a specific niche for search and visibility purposes How women entrepreneurs could more confidently promote themselves and their businesses How she launched her new podcast and the mission behind it Productivity hacks and how she gets things done for work life balance Resources: Website: karenyankovich.com Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter Podcast: Good Girls Get Rich Event: Fast Track to Your Next Client with LinkedIn Other Listening Options: Individual player or full player view on website: http://lorirochino.com/podcast-2/

I, like everyone else can be prone to shiny object syndrome, especially when it comes to online courses and offerings that look so appealing and is bound to help me do great things in business or life, like become more productive, create the perfect sales funnel, have stellar content marketing so you could grow your business and live in the beach like what's portrayed in the Four Hour Workweek. Funny enough, I spotted a lady reading that book with its red and orange cover (must be the newer version) while at my son's basketball clinic. Living in the attention economy, a term coined by Matthew Crawford, time is not only a scarce resource but so is the attention from the person whose time you want. So how does go about minimizing the distractions and focusing on what truly matters? What's the return on investment for the attention that you give the product or service being promoted to you? Find out this and more on this episode of Simply Designed Life. But, before we get into the conversation, if you happen to be in the Philadelphia area the last weekend of April, I would love to connect with you! I'm presenting at the BlogConnect event April 29. Registration details are at lorirochino.com/events. Who is Prerna? Prerna Malik is the co-founder of Content Bistro where she serves up finger-licking conversion copy to time-starved entrepreneurs. She has mastered the recipe for copy that balances persuasion and personality with the powers of conversion science ensuring that you get high conversions and profitable launches easily and effortlessly. She's based in India where she lives with her family. Quotes from Prerna It makes a huge impact not just in terms of the money that they make which is great of course, but also the freedom that they have to focus on the things they really enjoy. The emails that I get that make me the happiest, 'Oh my gosh, I'm so glad I didn't have to spend the mental energy doing this.' I was so happy to hear that, it means that you are operating in your zone of genius and I'm making that possible, how great is that! (12:29) The one thing that's worked for us is ensuring that whenever we do a course or sign up to do a course, we know exactly what we want out of it, and then dedicating time to actually going through the course. (16:47) Evaluating ROI that you'll get from a course will be really helpful in guiding your courses future purchase decisions as well. (18:15) You just need to start. You just need to take that first step. It's scary, but doing it is just so worthwhile. If there's a project you've been thinking about, if there's a new business idea, if there's a course you want to launch, I think you need to just get out there and take action on that first step. And after that, getting momentum is so much easier. (25:05) What You’ll Learn Her business beginnings as a side hustle before turning it into a full-time gig How her husband's illness forced them to rethink their work situation How she avoids shiny object syndrome when it comes to courses The power of teamwork in juggling business and life Resources: Website: https://www.contentbistro.com/ Social Media: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter One Productivity Tool She Uses - Passion Planner: &lt;br /&gt;<br />
Other Listening Options: Individual player or full player view on website: http://lorirochino.com/podcast-2/

Here at Simply Designed Life Podcast, we've mostly discussed work-life balance from the female perspective, but what about the male perspective? I think it was around Episode 10 with Jennifer Ghymn on Writing and the Interculture Life around the 14-minute time mark that we wondered how men juggled work-life balance. To follow up on that conversation, and in honor of the Father's Day weekend, our next couple episodes will be dedicated to the male perspective of productivity within the context of work and family life. First up, we have comedian Andy Shaw of Instafather, and then next week it's Super Joe Pardo, who's the founder of the Mid-Atlantic Podcast Conference and host of The Business Podcast. We'll hear these "Super Men" discuss their journeys and hacks for getting it all done. At any rate, I'm stoked to introduce our next guest whom I had the pleasure of meeting at the fabulous Blog Connect Conference in Philly, hosted by the amazing Chrystina Cappello and team ;). But before that, I wanted to announce that I am excited and honored to be competing in this year's Podcast Movement's PMx Competition. What is PMX exactly? PMx is an adaptation of TEDx talks with a competitive spin. I will have 15 minutes to give my talk in front of four judges, competing with 11 other contestants for the chance to receive the PMX championship belt, be recognized by the Academy of Podcasters Hall of Fame, and be automatically selected to speak at Podcast Movement 2019. PMx will be on Monday, July 23d from 9am – 3pm EST at the Marriott in Philadelphia, PA. Less than 40 days until I take the PMx stage at @PodcastMovement - no pressure right? A big Shout out to Cypress Resources who will be sponsoring the competition. According to a Communications Research Study, people fear public speaking more than death, and so for me, this should be an interesting challenge to see whether or not I could rise to occasion, own it, or "Bring it On" like in that cheesy, but feel-good, 2000 rom-com with Kirsten Dunst, but most of all, impact those who share the same fears as myself but take courageous action and speak out in spite of those fears. Anyway, enough about the competition and me, let's get into the conversation with Andy Shaw. Who is Andy? Andy Shaw is a full-time college admissions marketing director, a father of twin 3-year-old girls and a 5-year-old boy, an improv comedian with The Oxymorons, a social media consultant, and an avid fan of Black Mirror on Netflix even though it is terrifying. He's made a goal of helping new dads gain confidence with Instather.com, sharing his own stories and practical advice on fatherhood. He's the upcoming author of The New Mom's Guide to New Dads, a book based on helping moms figure out what dads are thinking and how to get them more involved by raising expectations. While all of these jobs and roles may seem like a lot, Andy has watched his incredible wife give birth to twins so he's just gonna keep quiet. Quotes from Andy On Parenting If I accidentally yell in the heat of the moment, my kids are gonna take that a lot more personally than if I just yelled at a stranger who just cut me off on a highway, right? My kids, I have to see them every day, they just don't disappear right down the highway. (13:17) On Tackling Most Important Things (MIT'S): So Pomodoro, 25 minutes on, 5 minutes off, but also priorities so I can list out my priorities for the day, whether it's for career or at home and I always do them in chunks so I always make sure I'm tackling my biggest priorities for the day. So at the end of the day and the week, I know no matter even if the kids are crazy or everything falls apart, I got some of my biggest tasks done. (16:58) Know Thyself You can't be the best at everything. If you’re trying to be the best at everything, you’re probably the best at nothing. Pick a couple things... The more aware you are of what you like and don’t like, know what your strengths are,