Stand By

It's been a while since I've posted. 

But don't worry! 

I haven't quit. 

I am currently in the process of combining my website, On High Heels and this blog, Blogging On High Heels, onto one WordPress theme.

On High Heels is simply revising and redesigning.

So - please stand by!

Thank you!

Celebrating Women - Part II

Degas - Ballet Dancers

Women can have brains, beauty, and business savvy.

Any woman who says that's narrow-minded is 

uncomfortable in her own skin.

Stop being uncomfortable. 

Embrace your femininity!

Transforming Kate

Kate Winslet dons a new pixie cut. 

LOVE IT!

Celebrating Women

Today is the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. 

This is why we should celebrate being who we are:

• Women are natural nurturers. As moms, aunts, grandmothers, sisters, we give sage wisdom, support and encouragement. We kiss boo-boos, nurse cuts and bruises, and give hugs when the boy we crushed on asked somebody else to the dance.
• Women are multi-taskers. We can have a load of laundry going, converse on the phone while a meal is being cooked, correct a child's homework, and still not let you go out looking like that. 
• Women are connectors. Because we love to engage in conversation, we have girls night out, girl-talk, mommies groups, wine diva groups, and just about any other reason to simply get together and connect. 
• Women are resourceful. I'm thinking Mrs. Ingalls resourceful, who cooked on one wood-burning stove, made Pa, Laura, Mary, Carrie and Grace's clothes, cooked pie from scratch and made all of the family Christmas gifts by hand. The pioneering spirit lives on in women today. Though we have modern amenities to make life "easier", who else but mom or aunt or sister can throw together a last-minute Halloween costume or bake 300 cupcakes for the school bake sale - the night before!
• Women are strong. We give birth, help others to give birth, nurse an entire household that is sick (and still keep the house in order, after SHE catches what everybody else has), stand firm when a loved-one decides to leave and never return, and love on when our hearts are broken.
• Women are persistent. Though we have made strides in modern times, women are still paid less than their male counterparts in the marketplace. In response, women have started more business in the last ten years, created jobs, taken over some industries such as marketing and P.R., and mentor other young women and other entrepreneurs toward success and leadership.
• Women give birth to leaders. This is my favorite thing about women. Though we can't change our personal and historical past, we can shape and mold the future through the generations that will come after us. Women can teach sons how to be men of valor, honor and integrity. They can also teach daughters to be women of beauty, strength, and courage.

Women, let's be proud of who we are, and let us honor each other in the spirit of sisterhood and friendship. 

Frustration Can Be Motivating

This has been a frustrating week. Writer's block. Idea drain. Entrepreneurial envy. Insecurity. 

Rather than trying to take these issues head-on, I had to step away - not send out pitches, not write down blog ideas, and not even read anybody's email newsletters and blogs. I had to take off my entrepreneurial hat for a little while.

Perhaps that is a female way to handle frustrations (versus men, who more likely would press through the wall of frustration, kick it down, and step over the rubble). But for the girl in me, I wasn't up for duking it out with Frustration.

So how did I alleviate this frustration? Alas, not with a pint of ice cream, nor a bubble bath, not even a glass of vino.

What did this On High Heeled chick do instead?

I got more frustrated!   

And began to imagine. To imagine life as a daily 9-to-5er, with a J-O-B as my major source of income for the rest of my life, dealing with:

• having to play nice to a boss who would never teach me what he/ she knew so that I could be a leader in the organization
• having to commute in the nightmarish L.A. traffic 
• working really, really hard only to get that good ole' 3% merit increase at the end of the year
• getting laid off (again)
• being juggled about by the economy
• getting a 1% merit increase because the company has to down-size (and yes, I have actually received a 1% increase while working in a major company)

Ummm - no thank you!

Like waking up from a nightmare, those "would-rathers" made me realize that the frustrations of being a woman entrepreneur, a solopreneur, to be exact, are motivating factors for me to press on and keep going!

There's nothing more reward than running a grueling marathon - and actually finishing! 

That is what I intend to do with On High Heels! Keep running the race, and fighting the good fight.

I want to someday look back at my legacy and see the steps of my high heels making giant leaps and bounds for women in business. 

Frustrated? That's a good thing. It can steer closer to your dreams and push your goals full steam ahead.

What about you? What do you do when challenges come along? What keeps you moving forward? Would love to hear your thoughts!

The Charlie Sheen Method of Getting Publicity

We have all heard him and seen him: Charlie Sheen in his raw state of angst and anger. The rants, the insults, and the personal derisions leveled against his employer, Chuck Lorre, creator of the hit show, Two and a Half Men. Though it would be better described as notoriety, Charlie Sheen's recent public outbursts and displays can give us a few lessons on publicity, but not the negative kind.

Lesson 1. Make outrageous statements. Soon after getting locked out of the Warner Bros. studio, Charlie contacted radio stations and began to vent. Those vents were personal and offensive toward his employer. Yet they were provocative enough that they made everyone want to hear what he said.

Publicists create outrageous "headlines", but they are meant to grab the audience - not to insult or abuse. The eye-popping headline wants to pull you in order to engage and interface with you. Not push you away.

Lesson 2. Go on a press junket. Though Charlie already has the name to garner any media outlet he wants, he put himself on every network & radio program that would have him. I could not turn on the TV or go online without hearing about current Charlie's problems.

Publicists reach out to the media with relevant stories and current trends. Perfecting your pitch to the media can get you placed, and with patient persistence, combined with a developed relationship, you can become an "inside" source for a reporter. At this point, a press junket may not be too far-fetched.

Lesson 3. Show your "raw" side. Charlie's "big" interview aired on ABC's 20/20 where he smoked a cigarette, admitted he was on drugs, called the "Charlie Sheen drug", and exposed obviously erratic behavior. This was Charlie no-holds-barred, as he told his side of the story.

Good publicity tells your story. It is not about your product, service, business, stats, etc., but about the woman behind the success. We all are eager to know about, and root for, the journey you took to get from ordinary 9-to-5er to the wildly successful venture you launched.

In the world of celebrity, even bad publicity is considered "good" for public image. This is not the case in business. Smart marketing and branding garners good publicity. So when in doubt about your publicity campaign, take a lesson from the Charlie Sheen Method - and do the opposite.