That is a HUGE question for a lot of interior designers. As business owners, we are constantly bombarded with articles that encourage us to get involved on social networks, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Google+ need I go on? I listened to Marie Forleo‘s video today and she’s right, it is exhausting to try to be everywhere all the time. I do think it is important for designers to have a presence on social media, but you don’t have to be on all of them. However, it is sooo important to monitor the sites you have decided to create a presence on. Plan your work and work the plan!

I love the humor she injects into her videos. Marie Forleo‘s videos are short, sweet and to the point and definitely worthy of your time.

by Debbie Green

WFCP Certified Color Consultant ™ intensive training program with Kate Smith

This is the color course you wish you had in school. Our program is taught in 35-75 min on demand sessions using a combination of videos, exercises, live group Q&A sessions and online personal coaching sessions with Kate. Plus, you’ll get a full color training binder with over 200 pages of expert content.

After completing the course, you will be well prepared to sell your creative ability and skill in using and choosing colors for your client’s homes. Word will spread and before long people will be seeking you out as the “go-to” color expert in your area.

| Click to enlarge and see details |

Here’s what’s included with the NEW Kitchen module:

• All Kitchen module images are in 1/2″ scale
• New tab with 1/2″ scale
• Nine cabinet styles
• Appliances
• Faucets and sinks
• Range hoods
• Wine Racks & plate racks
• Hardware
• Lighting fixtures
• Glass doors
• Bar Stools
• Moldings
• Tile backsplash configurations
• Kitchen webinar recording (you’ll learn the best tips and tricks ~ June 26th at 1:00 PM EDT)
• BONUS downloadable wood finish templates in both vertical and horizontal patterns

Of course, all images break apart allowing you to customize any style or create new components.

ATTENTION STUDIO ONLINE USERS: DO NOT purchase this module! If you are a Studio Online subscriber this module and webinar recording is free! The module will be activated and webinar recording will be unlocked inside your CustomerHub account once this module is released. However, be sure to join us for the live Kitchen Module webinar by clicking the auto-register link above.

by Debbie Green

As I have mentioned before, I subscribe to Google’s blog. Today, they posted a very thought provoking blog on how moving to the cloud is actually green. Who Knew? Great article. By the way, we are a Google Apps company and loving every minute of it. Goodbye Outlook; we haven’t looked back once since 2010. I was an avid Microsoft Outlook user for over 12 years. I highly recommend switching to Google Apps if you own your own business.

How Green is the Internet? (by Google)

More than ever, people are using the Internet to shop, read, listen to music and learn. And businesses rely on Internet-based tools to operate and deliver their services efficiently. The Internet has created all kinds of new opportunities for society and the economy—but what does it mean for the environment? by Debbie Green

We’ve been working to answer that question and enlisted the help of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) to gather more data. Their study (PDF), released today, shows that migrating all U.S. office workers to the cloud could save up to 87 percent of IT energy use—about 23 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, or enough to power the city of Los Angeles for a year. The savings are associated with shifting people in the workforce to Internet-based applications like email, word processing and customer relationship software.

These results indicate that the Internet offers huge potential for energy savings. We’re especially excited that Berkeley Lab has made its model publicly available so other researchers and experts can plug in their own assumptions and help refine and improve the results.

Of course, understanding the impact of shifting office applications to the cloud is only part of the story, which is why last week we hosted a summit called “How Green is the Internet?” to explore these questions in greater detail. At the summit, experts presented data on how the growth of Internet infrastructure, including devices like phones and tablets, can impact the environment. We also saw great excitement about the potential for entirely new Internet-enabled tools in areas like transportation, e-commerce and digital content to deliver huge energy and carbon savings. We’ve posted the videos from those sessions and invite you to take a look.

I ran across this great blog post today by Marie Forleo. It’s about people asking for free advice. Her video in the post is absolutely hilarious. I recommend subscribing to her blog and liking her on Facebook. She gets right to the point! by Debbie Green

Studio Live! Exterior Design May 8th at 1:00 pm EDT. (Join live for free; recordings available for a small fee)

We’ve been using Studio to design inside the home, drawing window treatments and space plans for nearly a decade now. But have you considered how you might use it outside the home? We’ll show you several ways to expand your client services to include exterior design. Click here to register for our free webinars. Mark your calendar for these webinars, there is always something new and exciting to learn.

Templates below are included with purchase of recording, of course, in .mms format.

Last week Jane Pollack wrote another exceptional blog that is definitely worth pondering. I think we all fall into this mindset from time to time. It is a quick & easy read but very worthwhile. by Debbie Green

Spiritual Vandalism

by Jane Pollack

Have you ever had a great idea, felt enthusiastic about making it a reality, gotten off to a rousing start and then fallen off the cliff? Did you say daily? Yeah, me, too.

Here’s what it can look like. You meet with a colleague for coffee where you brainstorm ways of working together. Your combined positive energy fills the place as you sketch out your business model on a napkin, estimate the dollar values you’ll bring to the party and even consider how you’ll spend the millions you’ll be earning as a result of these efforts. You shake hands, slap high fives, pack up your equipment and part company.

And nothing happens.

Oh, but it does.

An unseen force creeps in, unseen and unbidden, and begins the process of sabotaging your best efforts.

A little voice inside your head whispers, “I don’t really belong in this partnership.” “He’s going to discover what an impostor I am.” “What was I thinking? I can’t take on another project.”

You don’t pick up the phone to follow up. You carry around the weight of indecision and procrastination. Time passes. The enthusiasm and energy of that meeting diminishes and fades away. Sound familiar?

I call this spiritual vandalism.

Something entered your mind and heart that had nothing to do with the initial spark of enthusiasm and commitment. Left untended, that negative energy takes on a life of its own. It’s intangible, but present, and saps you of your drive.

There is a concept in criminology called the Broken Windows Theory which feels like a ‘real world’ parallel to spiritual vandalism. From Wikipedia:

Consider a building with a few broken windows. If the windows are not repaired, the tendency is for vandals to break a few more windows. Eventually, they may even break into the building, and if it’s unoccupied, perhaps become squatters or light fires inside. Or consider a sidewalk. Some litter accumulates. Soon, more litter accumulates. Eventually, people even start leaving bags of trash from take-out restaurants there or even break into cars.

 Mayor Rudy Giuliani took this model to heart and made sure that graffiti was removed from subways; he cracked down on public alcohol consumption and fare evasion as a signal of zero tolerance.

What if, instead of succumbing to your negative thoughts, you immediately took action and combated your gremlins and saboteurs with positive steps in the direction of your vision?

I’ll tell you what will happen. They will disappear as quickly as the Wicked Witch of the West melted when water was poured on her. These vandals are emotional and spiritual bullies who love to keep you stuck. I know because I’ve had them all my life, but have built up my spiritual forces to combat them daily.

Here are my two winning strategies for eradicating these thugs from your life:

1.  As soon as you recognize you’re having a ‘vandalous’ thought, take an immediate action. Pick up the phone, do the next thing on your list, move a muscle—change a thought.
2. Shine the light of day on the hooligan. Call a friend and report this monster. “I’m having a bad thought and just wanted to share it with someone who cares about me.”

I’d love to tell you that they’ll disappear in time, but they are relentless. They will continue to pop up and thrive in an atmosphere of neglect. Your spiritual awareness and heart are the antidote to this kind of vandalism. Keeping up your daily practices of meditation, prayer, random acts of kindness and interdependence with others is a healthy prescription for vandal-less living.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

All of us a Minutes Matter would like to wish everyone a Happy Valentine’s Day! What special things do you do on Valentine’s Day? Jerry and I are looking forward to seeing a play. Valentine’s Day is such a sweet day; it’s a reminder to be kind to others and express our love to those we hold near and dear to our hearts. Yesterday, we shipped cute necklaces, that we purchased from Groupon, to our granddaughters to make their day a little more special. 
 
In honor of Valentine’s Day, we’re offering The Design Directory of Bedding book by Jackie Von Tobel for ONLY $25, plus shipping. The publisher had a huge inventory sale, and we decided to take advantage of their fabulous offer and pass the savings on to you. No promo code needed, just click on the order button and fill out the form.  

The Design Directory of Bedding

This book is the most complete directory of bedding and bedroom design ideas and instruction ever assembled. Concise, straight-to-the-point lists, definitions, and descriptions of design fundamentals and components provide a comprehensive education on bedding design. Here are scores of ideas for skirts, covers, pillows, shams, headboards, drapery, canopies and daybeds.

Everything you will ever need to design beautiful bedrooms is here:

• Hundreds of inspirational ideas and patterns
• Current and classic bedding styles adaptable to every budget
• Cutting-edge styles from easy to advanced
• More than 1,000 expert illustrations
• Glossary of standard terms for both furniture and soft furnishings
• Extensive Resource Directory for fabrics and more
• Companion CD-ROM of black-and-white line drawings that can be used repeatedly, plus detailed workroom worksheets and service request forms.

We wanted our Studio users to be the first to know that we have released an important update for all Studio 3.0 users. The next time you open Studio you should see a pop-up window asking you to update. The update only takes a few minutes.

What’s included in this update?

• Studio now works with Windows 8

ATTN Studio 2.0 Users: As Studio 2.0 was officially retired last year. Studio 2.0 will no longer be available for download, nor will tech support be available. Click here to upgrade to Studio 3.0.

Didn’t receive a notification that a Studio update was available? When you open Studio you should see a pop-up alerting you that there is an update available. If you didn’t receive this notification, click on the link below to install the update.

Confirm that you have the new build date of 1/12/2013 To confirm build date > Open Studio > click on Options (upper right corner next to the?) > click About MMStudio > (Build 1/12/2013) is displayed at the top. Any modules you have purchased will be displayed below the build date.

If for some reason your build date is NOT 1/12/2013, you will need to uninstall your current version of Studio and then click on the download link in this post (above) to install the new version. To uninstall Studio > click Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs > scroll down to locate Minutes Matter Studio > highlight and click Remove.

Do you need your serial number for Studio?

Log into our membership site, CustomerHub. Below is a list of all the things you can do with CustomerHub. Use this service for all your account management needs, including:

• View both free and purchased Minutes Matter videos/webinar recordings
• Get access to your Studio serial number (if applicable)
• Get access to the link to download Studio when you purchase a new computer
• Get access to Studio’s Style Guide (download to your computer or iPad)
• Update your profile and billing info
• View and print invoices
• View your subscriptions
• Make online payments
• And much more!