A Skincare Routine for Your Business

Posted by Jackie Ewing on May 31, 2010

Jackie's Skin Care

As I was going through my regular twice daily skincare routine this morning, I thought how I need to apply the same steps to my business. I do my skin care routine so I can care for my skin and help it survive the best way possible in today’s environment. I really want to do the same for my business!

So, here’s a sneak peek into my life and how I apply the same techniques to taking care of my business as I do to taking care of my skin.

1. Cleansing.
Washing my face with cleanser and water, takes away the dirt and debris that has accumulated throughout the day, or night.

Cleansing in my business allows me to remove the dirt and debris that collects in my voicemail,

Does this need some cleansing?

email and paper files. If I have a routine and do it twice a day, I can stay on top of it and not let the crap accumulate and drag on my attention. If I don’t do this step regularly, I get easily distracted and often start down the procrastination road!

2. Toning.
Applying toner to my face both freshens and revives my skin and prepares it for the arrival of the good stuff – moisture. It’s kind of like preparing a surface for painting or varnishing.

I make a lot of lists

Toning my business is when I get my lists done and focus on certain tasks that must be done each day, get them done and prepare my slate for whatever the big project is that day. Without this step, I don’t get nearly as much done in a day. I can wander from task to task not really finishing anything very well.

3. Treating.
While treating my skin isn’t always a daily task, it does happen two or three times a week. Treating can be exfoliation; cleansing masque; hydrating masque or something special to boost my skin.

In my business, these treatments are the purging of all emails, files, junk mail, people and sometimes even clients who are not helping either move my business forward, grow it or enhance it in some way. I have to decide to do this or I may end up running my business by someone else’s rules.

4. Moisturizing.

This final step is what my skin has been cleansed and prepared for. The moisture applied brings

Adding moisture for optimum performance

it back to it’s optimum appearance and performance and, let’s face it (pun intended!), helps me defy time and stay looking so young!

Relating to business, this final step is the constant reading and adding new information to my business. like nutrients and moisture for skin, a business needs a constant influx of new information, exposure to different people and ideas so it can continue to grow and stretch.

As with skincare, if the steps are not done on a regular routine basis, they lose their effectiveness and you go backward a little. But, you can start a routine at any time. So if I do forget a step or two here or there (and, believe me, I do!) I can just start a new To-Do List and get refocused on what I have to do and start from the first step again today.

Inspiration To Set and Pursue New Year’s Goals

Posted by Jackie Ewing on December 31, 2009

I’m sure everyone has at least thought about setting some goals or resolutions for this coming New Year.  I am one of those – I’ve definitely thought about it, but not actually sat down and put anything down on paper.  I’m almost finished reading “The Magic of Thinking Big” by Michael J. Schwartz and that has helped me think about what I want to accomplish in the next 12 months.  The plan was to sit down this afternoon and plot out my goals and then the path to those goals.

Bree McMahon

I took my power walk a little earlier today so I could get some extra blood flow to the brain in the hope that it would also help me get motivated to start the process!  As I approached the soccer fields in the park, I noticed a group of girls in red and white soccer uniforms.  They were having their group photos taken and there was much laughter and noise coming across the soccer field! A wheelchair caught my eye and made me think of a local Orlando girl – Bree McMahon – a soccer player who lost a leg this year while at a car wash raising funds for her soccer team and then to wonder how she was doing.

It’s a pretty sad but inspiring story of how accidents can happen and can change peoples lives forever.  Basically, one of her best friends accidentally reversed the car they were washing into Bree and the wall behind her.  She ended up having a leg amputated.  You can read details of the story here.

I stopped to watch the girls goof  around and get together for the photo.  Did I mention that the wheelchair was empty?  I sought out Bree in the gaggle of soccer-clad girls and saw her standing among them on her “new” leg.  She acted no differently to any of the others.  What a girl!

I continued my walk and when I got home, I searched for an update on her story.  What I found was this video clip of her story that The Today Show did earlier this month.  I want you to watch it, listen to her and then look inside yourself at your own “issues” and then put them into some kind of perspective.  It worked for me!

After I showered, ate and powered down an XS energy drink, I sat down with a  pen and paper and wrote down many goals for myself and my business for this coming year.  As I was doing that, I stopped and realized that by sharing this, somebody else might be inspired to get focused on their own goals and the action needed to get there.  If a teenage girl who lost a leg can continue to actively pursue her goal (pun intended!) of playing and coaching soccer, then I should be able to get my head around my own goals and the actions I need to take to accomplish them.  My perceived barriers paled into insignificance beside her achievements.

Hoping that this story inspires you to take action and be thankful for what you have!

Best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.