OK, so here we go… a few months back, Facebook posted a “What’s Coming” blog and of course, people had their opinions. I was reading what folks already posted but, I was noticing there were a LOT of people whining about there not being a “DISLIKE” button. Well now, “I” have an opinion and so I expressed it…

It started off pretty positive but, then the ones that are (in my opinion) negative and hell bent on pushing for a “DISLIKE” button started in. Now one thing that drives me nuts is, when you are commenting on a post that has a number of comments already, why not check to see if what you want to say has been said already and addressed by the author? But noooo…. I had the same comments and kept giving the same answers…

I don’t think I’m asking too much for people to understand that there are times when a dislike button wouldn’t help the person that posts the comment, photo, video, etc. If someone expresses pain for a loss and you don’t know what to say, try, “I’m sorry”. With sincerity… “I’m SO sorry.”

I still keep getting feedback on this post. There are some that still disagree but, some people do feel me…

So all I want is for us to have compassion and use common sense. If someone is going through something painful, let them know you care with just a few words to SAY SO. Let’s help each other instead of making others feel bad for posting what’s on their minds. Your opinion may still hurt my feelings but, if you express “why” you don’t like what I’ve shared, I can possibly improve on my content. Maybe we will just agree to disagree but, open dialogue is a healthy thing to me.

So…. WHAT DO YOU THINK???

BTW… Be my friend on Facebook! Learn about some cool tools that will step up your Facebook game!

Who is Tracy Allen?

So just who is “Tracy Allen” ? I am a San Diego based UNSTOPPABLE ENTREPRENEUR! I believe in personal branding, connecting with good people to help them in their journey as entrepreneurs to be UNSTOPPABLE as well!

Recently I checked my Youtube messages and there was a comment left about the interview I did with Mr. Joe Locke of SereniGy Global. Lately I’ve been getting emails and text messages of people contacting me about the company. I noticed that Google had my video ranked at the top if you put in Joe’s name. So I put in mine and it didn’t show on the first page for the first time in months that I had noticed. I thought, “Well isn’t that something? I’m all over the place on Youtube and I have my other blog site, “MsTracyAllen.com“  and yet I’m not being found. So it moved me to action!

Let me tell you a bit more about who Tracy Allen is. On the personal side, I am a divorced mother of 2 wonderful teenagers. Right now my son is 15 and my daughter is 18. I am super proud of them! I am a daughter of an awesome mother back in Pittsburgh, PA, which is where I’m from. I have a sister in Ohio and the aunt of her 3 children. I know I have other siblings via my father but, unfortunately, we’re not in touch like we should be. I am the close friend of some amazing people. One of my oldest friends goes all the way back to 4th grade! I love music, people, food, beautiful things, creating, life, and love.

After losing my job last year, I was determined to never go back to another! I am not a “9 to 5″ type person (hence the name 9to5Not) so I needed to find what  it was that makes me happy that also allows me to make a living.

I met Mr. Troy McKnight last summer after finding his wife Lisa’s videos on YouTube. He told me that I should do videos as well. I didn’t know “what” I should be doing with video but, I put my passion for helping entrepreneurs together with video and by December of 2010, my show, “What Do YOU Do?” was created.

All of my adult life I’ve been trying to find what my passion is and now that I’ve got it, I’m so excited, I do it for fun! I create videos for fun. Music, beautiful photographs, business, and many things inspire me to “create a video”!

You can learn a lot about me through my “fruits”. When you meet my children, you can see what type of upbringing they’ve had. When you look at my work you can feel the positive energy that comes forth.

So Tracy Allen is excited about life and attracting all of my desires into my life. You can visit my other blog site, MsTracyAllen.com and see videos of the show, other videos that I’ve done, and tools and resources that I recommend from my business, 9to5Not Business Solutions.

Oh and don’t be caught off guard… Tracy Allen goes through many hair changes! Lol!

Well here it is… I took a bit of a sabbatical as I was working through the grief of losing a relationship that I had with someone for over 10 years.

The new year came in filled with many POSSIBILITIES and EXCITEMENT! I was just starting to get into the grove of having my new business and then… there was a slow and deliberate disconnect from this person and then finally the words no one wants to hear, “YOU’LL FIND SOMEONE ELSE.” … Oh no… we didn’t just go there … did we?

A dear friend of mine passed away in 2010 unexpectanly. I lost 2 jobs last year as well and went through some major financial hardships. I was determined to really get busy and start building “9to5Not” with a real sense of purpose. So when 2011 came in, I was very excited to get the year off to a great start and I believed that this was going to be the BEST YEAR EVER!

When my world was rocked by now being let go by someone that I thought would always be with me, it put me into a bit of a FUNK, to say the least.

Then a friend that I had recently connected with but, became very close with, was now diagnosed with CANCER and she began shutting down.  (Side note: I will be participating in the 3 Day Walk for breast cancer)

Many of you that subscribe have been asking “What’s up?”. “Why aren’t you keeping this blog site updated?”. I APOLOGIZE. This blog site became not as important all of a sudden.

You see, the most common personal loss people identify are losses due to death, yet there are many OTHER LOSSES that people may experience in their lifetimes. Some of these losses include:

• Death of loved one
• Relationship or divorce
• Diagnosis with chronic or terminal illness
• Stillbirth or miscarriage
• Infertility
• Financial losses
• Job loss
• Death of extended family, friends, co-workers or colleagues
• Death of a pet
• Loss of health
• Moving or relocating
• Downsizing
• Change in family – new child, empty nest, caring for aging parents
• Natural Disasters

All of these losses can result in a grief response to these life changes and challenges which can significantly impair a person’s work performance.

I fell behind in many things YET, I picked up momentum in other areas such as creating better videos. My videos for my web TV show, “What Do YOU Do?” got better. I bought a better camera that makes nicer recordings. I changed my introductions and endings on the videos and people are LOVING them!

I create short commercial videos for businesses and that’s picking up as well. I also create videos just for fun and inspiration. So although I haven’t felt too much like writing, I have been busy in other areas of my business.

Everyone deals with grief in their own way. Sometimes you have to step away from some things so that you can recuperate from what ever you’re dealing with. For a small business owner, if the business is relying on you to keep it in operation, it’s really important to find the HELP you need to sustain you and get you back on track.

With the support of my friends from Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, long time friends across the county, and my friends and family here in San Diego, I am uplifted everyday! You guys ROCK!!!

So if you find yourself dealing with any type of grief, here are a few tips that I found helpful:

• Find YOUR support group(s) to lift your spirits. It doesn’t have to be a professional group.
• Go to seminars where you can be surrounded by positive people that are excited about life and how to make it better!
• Watch funny movies or videos… LAUGH A LOT!!!
• Buy flowers or plants for yourself! They really cheer up a room!

Keep in mind that everything happens for a REASON. Sometimes you will find out what that reason is and sometimes you may never know but, know that you have to keep moving forward. Keep finding ways to GIVE of yourself.

When I have made someone HAPPY, it warms my heart and reminds me of who I am and why I do what I do.

If you would like to SHARE HOW YOU HAVE COPED WITH GRIEF, please leave your comments here. We are all here to help one another.

BEAUTIFUL flowers and plants were compliments of the GET MOTIVATED SEMINAR!

As we step into the new year, 2011, we’ll hear plenty of the traditional song “Auld Lang Syne,” a song which simply means “times gone by“. I’m reminded of times and situations for which I’m grateful.

September 9, 2009 (9-9-09), was a pivotal moment in my life. It was an important date of the decade because it’s when I began working as a car sales consultant for KIA of El Cajon in San Diego, CA. I had never been in car sales before but this job came along at a time when it was sorely needed, unbeknownst to the dealership, and even more than I realized, when a friend of mine recommended I work there. “Why?” Those details will have to be in a future blog or book, but it was not an easy time for my children and me. This location became “home” in many ways for my family. It was a place where I really enjoyed working, and I loved the people that I worked with and for.

It was a small store. Customers that came had been coming there for years. It had been a Saturn retailer and switched to KIA in April of 2009. Many return customers were Saturn customers, still coming for service. There was a TV on in the service area and the yummy smell of fresh popcorn, coffee and tea filled the waiting area for our customers and employees. We shared some great times there!

The dealership let me borrow the 2011 KIA Sorento for my daughter, Taja’s (shown in photo) prom day in May 2010. This is the 7 passenger, V6 model with the two-toned leather, push button start, panoramic moon roof, and satellite radio with the Infinity sound system. What a beautiful car!

In June, 2010, we employees started feeling a vibe that something was about to change and the future didn’t look too bright for the dealership. Little did we know that the owner was slowly going out of business. Inventory stopped coming in and we were losing employees left and right.

On September 15th, I was laid off, along with many others. I was sad for those that were let go because they weren’t sure what they were going to do next. This gave me the inspiration and the opportunity to dive into my own business! I was ready to take action to help other people that have businesses of their own.

I have always been someone that loves a comeback story, especially in the business world! I am happy to say that my favorite KIA store is back—bigger and better—and is now called TEAM KIA El Cajon!

Some companies fire ALL of the old management and come on board with a whole new team in these types of situations. This has not been the mentality of TEAM KIA, which is a welcome relief. They are showing that they care about people. The store now has inventory again, good sales people are returning, the popcorn is being popped, and that “good” vibe is back!

QUESTION: What was your best experience when you purchased a vehicle?

Here’s to a Merry Christmas to you and your family and I wish you a VERY Happy and Prosperous New Year!!!

You know, sometimes you can learn some great things from watching TV. It can inspire and empower you if you allow it.

So often as I listen to successful people speak, I hear how they don’t watch TV. They don’t even own a television set. I start feeling guilty because well… I like watching television, sometimes! When I think back to my childhood of watching shows like Good Times, All In The Family, The Carol Burnett Show, The Brady Bunch, Bewitched, etc., I think about the lessons that I learned from those shows.

Some shows like Good Times allowed me to see  people struggling like my family but, they still had love and fun with each other. There was always a lesson at the end that I understood and made me want to stay away from the things that got the kids in trouble. It taught me that there can be positive outcomes to bad situations.

This kid from the ghetto neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, PA, wanted a better life and watching TV actually inspired me to have bigger goals than what I saw everyday. I understood that my situation at that time didn’t have to be the way of life for the rest of my life.

The Carol Burnett Show just made me laugh out loud with tears in my eyes! OMG! Just down right funny!

I loved seeing the people that were jerks, like George Jefferson and Archie Bunker, have tender moments where they had to put aside differences and work together. Or when they showed love and compassion for someone else. I still get teary eyed thinking of Archie losing Edith on “All In The Family”.

But believe it or not, the show that probably had the biggest impact in my career decision was “Bewitched”. I thought Darrin had the coolest job! I thought coming up with marketing ideas and slogans was super cool!  I mean, who knew that it was developing a desire for me to someday help other businesses be able to outperform their competition via marketing?

*** 3 MARKETING STRATEGY TIPS FOR 2011:

1. Focus on your customers/visitors and NOT the search engines. If you do this correctly, you’ll rank on the front page of Google.

2.  Put yourself in your customer’s situation and think of phrases you would use to search for your business. Don’t get caught up in just “keywords”.

3. For your video marketing, don’t try to sell. Just give valuable content. What ever you’re an expert at, be an expert and not a salesperson. People want to deal with real people. That’s why reality TV is so hot. People want to see the real deal.

For me, it wasn’t all a waste of my time to watch TV. I don’t watch much of it now because I am busy building my business but, I still enjoy a few shows and will watch them when I can. I have to take breaks from working my business from time to time and that is just something I still enjoy.

So if you’re successful and television is a “no-no” for you, that’s fine but, try not to make other people feel “less than” because they have a few shows that they watch. 8 hours of TV, probably too much. Lol! But, a few hours here and there, I don’t think that’s gonna keep anyone in the poor house.

Please leave a comment and tell me, “What do you think?” AND “What are your top 3 all time favorite shows?”

“The great thing about television is that if something important happens anywhere in the world, day or night, you can always change the channel.” ~ from the TV show “Taxi”

I was reading an article where Susan Samtur, author of “Supershop Like The Coupon Queen” talked about how she makes an extra $2,500 a year, tax-free by taking advantage of receiving rebate checks.

So often we think saving $1 here and $3 there doesn’t make a difference but, it does. If you think about how much money you spend per month and you think about how much money you could save by using coupons and shopping in places that will send you rebate checks, it truly adds up big time!

Let’s say you spend about $200 eating out, another $300 on clothing, and maybe $500 on miscellaneous household/vehicle items. If you’re shopping in places that offer cash back on your purchases, and you get a check back for say… $100 or more. You’d take it wouldn’t you?

I’m just throwing some numbers out there but, you get the point. When ever you get a check in the mail for making a purchase, I doubt you’d throw it away or send it back!

Example: If you enjoy eating out with your family at nice restaurants and you spend about $75 for dinner on average, you may be able to purchase a $50 gift certificate to that restaurant for only $4! Pretty good savings, right?

What’s really cool is that you would still earn a rebate check for spending the $4!

It get’s really good when you have a small business and you shop for printer ink, computers, TVs, any item that is already eligible for a tax write off AND you get rebate checks?  Think about that!

See, the IRS doesn’t consider this to be “income”. Rebate checks are a reduction in purchase so the checks you receive are tax-free.

Approximately 98.7% of the stores in my ZamZuu mall “ComfyShopper.com” offers cash back. If you’d like to have your own store, send me a message and I’ll help you get a FREE mall of your own!

Subscribe and leave a comment. Share what are some ways that you’ve found to save money?

“A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.” ~ Yogi Berra
… so make the most of your nickel!