Would you like to eat Chocolate for Breakfast?  

I know I would!

I am delighted to introduce you to my very first featured Subject Matter Expert (SME) on Mentor Mondays and fellow entrepreneur Sue Ann Gleason, founder of Chocolate for Breakfast.  I had the pleasure of interviewing Sue Ann last month and talked about how she built her Facebook following to over 4000 in less than a year!

Chocolate for Breakfast  grew out of a desire to lighten up the conversation around food and to take us far from “oh so cautious and oh so conscious” to a more loving and lighter relationship with food and our bodies.

Sue Ann’s approach to business is done with intention, humor and heart.  With the Chocolate For Breakfast Facebook page she has really worked on building a community where she has fun and also, where the people in her community have fun.

“Nobody gets on social media to read 15 blog posts or four articles. They want a smile; they want a laugh.”

With this positive approach to her business Sue Ann has built a following of over 4000 in less than a year on Facebook!

Some key questions she asked herself when she was creating her Facebook community were:

• What’s this about?
• What kind of page am I creating?
• What kind of energy do I want to engender?

Her commitment to approaching her business and community engagement with humor and heart has worked out very well.  During our interview it was very clear the reason this approach works so well for Sue Ann is her personality and positive attitude.  These qualities make the page thrive and attract the ideal fan to create such a supportive community.

Celebrating her 1 year anniversary of Chocolate for Breakfast and the launch of her very own gourmet chocolate products, Sue Ann has some great advice to those who are looking to build a following and foster community around a company, brand, products or services.

“When I look at someone’s page, I’m not interested in who they know. I’m not interested in who they’re being photographed with. I’m interested in what information and value I will get from the page.  An important thing to remember is: this isn’t about me. This is about what I bring to my community and how can I delight and amuse them? I think when you have that intention, you can’t miss.”

Where Pleasure Meets Permission

Sue Ann makes it a point to constantly engage with her audience.  “There has to be an energy to the page, not just automatic scheduled postings.  As a business owner it is really important to her to be present for her audience.

“I am marketing with intention, humour and heart. Chocolate for Breakfast is just where pleasure meets permission.”

While she doesn’t consider herself a social media guru, she realized that she had a story to tell and her fan page was the perfect opportunity to tell it to her ideal customers.  She wasn’t deterred by advice she received saying that posting 4 or more times a day was annoying.  In fact we can see how great this has worked for her!

By taking note  on how BIG organizations like the New York Times played on the social media landscape, she found best practices they used by posting 5-7 times a day knowing that her community will simply click and respond to the posts they are interested in and ignore the rest.

“I’m there to bring joy and information to people. My energy comes across and I think that’s important.”

The type of engagement you can expect from Sue Ann’s Chocolate For Breakfast page is:

• Asking question she truly wants to know the answer to, not just to get responses. The more authentic she is in that query, the more responses she gets.
• She shares her opinions!  Everyone always loves to hear them and comment as well as share their own.
• She shares relevant information.  When she finds blogs about what other people are doing that she wants to celebrate, she shares those.
• Keeping her eyes wide open, she monitors the content people are responding to which comments are attracting more likes

Delighting the Ideal Customer

“I’m delighted with by the way.  Who would think, 4000 fans in such a short time. As I’ve learned about the people in this community, I danced with people I never even imagined I’d meet.  I’m thinking about newer ways to grow my business in a different direction that would indeed delight them.”

Sue Ann has just launched her line of gourmet chocolate after only one year in business!   I asked her if it was a good idea to actually have chocolate for breakfast (sounds good to me!) and she replied “It’s A-O-K. Good chocolate, though, really good chocolate.”  

Visit Chocolate for Breakfast on Facebook or at www.chococlateforbreakfast.com

Did you enjoy this edition of Mentor Mondays?  Share the love!  I’ve made it super easy!

Mentor Mondays – @avv interviews a fab entrepreneur who grew her Facebook Page to over 4000 likes in less than a year! http://ow.ly/99Ct4

A FB following to over 4000 in less than a year?  Learn how on Mentor Mondays with @avv #MentorMondays http://ow.ly/99Ct4

LOVE Mentor Mondays with @AVV!  This week learn how to grow your Facebook Community! #MentorMondays http://ow.ly/99Ct4

Many thanks to Sue Ann for being our Facebook FAN SME for this episode of Mentor Mondays!  Next week we go back to the vlog style where I answer an entrepreneurs question about being “out there” now that she has a business and is more accessible on the internet!

• This is THE WORST time to start a business!
• You are entering a very competitive market.
• Most startups fail

I am happy, no DELIGHTED to say that after 1 year my company is still going strong.  While all of the statements above are true to an extent, I’d rather provide these top 25 tips for new and seasoned business owners!

Post your tips for new business owners in the comments below!

1. Do what you love.  Every day when you go into your office, workspace, to work, make sure you enjoy what you do.  “If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.” – unknown  This isn’t just a motherhood statement, I know this to be absolutely 100% true!  You can have it, if you want it!
2. Know your target customer, your ideal customer.  Do everything in your power to delight them!
3. Surround yourself with supportive, positive, knowledgeable and passionate people.  This includes mentors, coaches, friends, business partners, employees, customers, etc..
4. When fear strikes, strike it back down.  Call this your Fear Smack Down…where you win every single time!  The good kind of fear is usually a beacon to tell you that you are on the right track. Fear-LESS.  Feel the fear & do it anyways!
5. Be selective and downright picky about who you work with.  This includes employees, contractors, partners and yes, even customers.
6. Follow your intuition and your gut…always…without fail.
7. If it sounds too good to be true, I hate to burst your bubble but it is, it totally is.
8. If you are unsure, ask questions until you are satisfied with the answers.  If you still have that nagging feeling…go back to number 6.
9. Be unafraid to walk away and be unafraid to say no. (see number 6 & 7)
10. Do not concern yourself too much with what everyone else is doing in your space.  This includes your competition. Do your best, highest quality work every day all the time and you will not fail.
11. Beware of free offers of help.  Free doesn’t imply quality or follow through.  Sometimes it pays to pay to get the job done and done right.
12. Get over yourself when it comes to getting help.  If you want to grow and scale your business it is time to delegate.  Unsure who to delegate to?  See 3 and 5.
13. Partnershipsare just like dating…get to know each other, test each other out with small projects and then see if the relationship is right for marriage.  Oh and get a prenup!
14. When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.  This advice is not from me…I learned this from the fabulous Dr. Maya Angelou and experienced it firsthand.
15. Celebrate your wins and learn from your losses. Everything is a learning experience…embrace it as such and grow.  Begin a new day rejuvenated and ready to leverage your accomplishments and lessons learned.
16. Leadershipmeans taking talented people with you on the journey, not leaving them behind or underneath. Oh, and it feels so much better!
17. Love all, trust few. (this one comes from Danielle Laporte…sound advice)
18. As a business owner you WILL have more flexibility, but rest assured you will work harder than you ever have in any traditional job in your life!  The upside is…you will love every second!
19. Hire slowly…fire quickly.  This includes customers.  There is no need to continue an unproductive relationship.  End it with grace and understanding and move on.
20. Invest in self care.  Owning your own business gives you so many opportunities to run yourself ragged.   If you are not at your best, you will not deliver your best.   Make time for you to do something you love, to relax, to be pampered. The same thing applies to the people who work with you.  Don’t run them ragged.
21. Take vacations.  Small ones. Big ones. Take them.  Take yourself on a playdate or make a playdate with fellow entrepreneurs on a regular basis!
22. If you choose to do work for free, be very clear under which conditions you are willing to do this. This typically involves a specific charitable organization, or cause.   Beware of people or companies who ask for free work in exchange for fabulous exposure!
23. If you find yourself negotiating price or deliverables, be very conscious, clear and firm about where you have flexibility.  Do not under price yourself under any circumstances.   On the same note…don’t spend time negotiating something that is already reasonable and appropriate.  If this is how a customer is before they sign, think of how they will be after.
24. Don’t let the turkeys get you down.  This is wisdom from my mom.  There will always be naysayers out there.  Remember the Fear Beacon in #4?  Naysayers and negative comments could also be put in the same category.
25. Probably the most important.  Appreciate, love and cherish your family, friends and supporters on your journey through entrepreneurship.  If it all went down the tubes tomorrow, these are the people who would still be there.  Don’t forget or lose sight of these amazing people in your life.

Feel free to share this great post with your crowd!  I’ve made it super easy for you with these cut and paste shareables!

Feel the Fear and do it anyways – 1 of 25 amazing business tips from @avv for Entrepreneurs http://ow.ly/92fk4 #mentormondays

Leadership means taking talented people with you. – 1 of 25 incredible tips from @avv for Entrepreneurs #mentormondays http://ow.ly/92fk4

Be Prepared to be Inspired! – 25 tips from @avv for business owners!  http://ow.ly/92fk4 #mentormondays

When we began this entrepreneurial journey, many of us began with a passion and purpose in mind without a thought that we wouldn’t be paid on time for our work.    Some entrepreneurs are even reluctant to have the money conversation with their clients and as a result payment and payment terms aren’t clear.

The COLD HARD FACT is if you aren’t getting paid, if you aren’t making money, you don’t have a business, you have a hobby!

In this Mentor Mondays segment I’ll tell you how important it is to have the money conversation as well as tips on how to ensure you get paid how much and when it is expected.

So honor yourself and the value YOU provide to your clients, because I’m pretty confident that what you want to run is a business, not a free service hobby!

Share this post with your peeps!

Here are some easy Tweets & Statuses you can use!

Hear @AVV tell it like it is when it comes to entrepreneurs getting paid http://ow.ly/8RcCo !!

Not getting paid by your clients?  @AVV tells you how to get paid while building client relationships. http://ow.ly/8RcCo

If you aren’t making money, you have a hobby, NOT a business!  @AVV tells you how to get paid ON TIME! http://ow.ly/8RcCo

Don’t forget if YOU have a business question you want to see answered on a future version of Mentor Mondays, leave it in the comments or even on my Facebook page.

Tune for the week – Destiny’s Child – Independent Woman!- GET DANCING

Woah, all the women who are independent
Throw your hands up at me
All the honeys who makin’ money
Throw your hands up at me

Today we tackle the juicy question “Do I have to be a bitch to be a business woman.”   I absolutely love this controversial topic to kickstart this fabulous series!     Some  think of a Bitch as  Being In Total Control Honey and I’m sure there are other not so flattering acronyms out there.   I answer this question today not only with my advice but from experience as someone who at one time thought this approach may be the right way to go to get far…let us see how THAT worked out!

What are your thoughts?  Do you think you have to be a bitch to be a business woman?  Why or why not?   What about those of you on the receiving end of working with this type of personality?  How has it helped or hindered your productivity?

Leave your comments below on this juicy topic!  I would love to hear your opinions and experiences!

Tweet about it to get this conversation started! Copy & paste these quick & easy tweets!

Anastasia (@AVV ) Answers the question “Do you have to be a BITCH to be a business woman?” What do you think? http://ow.ly/8K7v6

Bitch or Business Woman?  Are they mutually exclusive?  See what @AVV has to say http://ow.ly/8K7v6

Weigh in on the Bitch or Business Woman debate!  See what @AVV has to say!  http://ow.ly/8K7v6

Don’t forget if YOU have a business question you want to see answered on a future version of Mentor Mondays, send it along using the contact form on the left hand side, in the comments or even on my Facebook page.

Tune for the week – Back in the New York Groove – Ace Frehley  - TURN IT UP LOUD!  ”So baby, you better believe, I’m back in the New York Groove!”