Meet the Ladies Who Are Changing the Face of Business - Pam Archer

I'm starting a new project and I'm so excited! I have met so many wonderful women who have been instrumental in helping achieve all that I have. Now I want you to meet them too! So, I am interviewing each of them and each week I will share an interview with you. Prepare to meet some of the most talented, dynamic, and successful women entrepreneurs. Take notes - because what they will teach you can change your life!

Weddings and Fitness. I'm not sure how those two businesses are related. But this week's guest has managed to build successful businesses around each of those areas. Pam and I met when we both became Divas and members of Boomer Diva Nation. I was intrigued by her businesses. Since I am always struggling with my own fitness level, her expertise was invaluable to me. Many of my site selection clients are ladies seeking the perfect location for their weddings. Even though I only work to help them find the location, I still have stories to tell. So it was interesting to hear Pam share her experience and advice with all the aspects of wedding planning I never get involved in. When I decided to do this series on my blog, I knew I had to have her. She's fun, she's smart, she's a DIVA all the way, she's Pam Archer!

1. Tell us about yourself.

I’m older than dirt, but have a passion for life, and anticipate that the best is yet to come. I am married, and the mother to three daughters, the eldest of who is my business partner. East Tennessee, in the awesome Appalachian Mountains, is my home. I was born and raised in Knoxville. One of six siblings, born to a Baptist minister, I have a heritage steeped in southern tradition, for which I am very grateful.

2. Tell us about your businesses.

Well, I have two.

I am the president of Archer Fitness Consultants, Inc., which umbrellas everything I do in the fitness industry, from producing exercise videos to teaching classes, personal training, and certifying instructors all over the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. I have had the privilege to work on national TV, with Jenny Craig, Int’l, on an exercise show called “Jenny’s Fit in 15”. I am still very active in the fitness industry, video production, and training instructors. I write a health and fitness column for a local newspaper, and blog for Prevention.com.

My other business, Pamela’s Exclusive Floral & Event Design is a full service wedding and event planning company. We are not a retail store rather we are strictly dedicated to creating dynamic and dramatic special events, including elegant floral design. I have a trained and artistic staff of floral designers, directors, coordinators, and design specialists. We will travel anywhere at any time. We provide personal, professional, and exemplary service to our clientele.

3. Why did you start your own business?

To tell you the truth, I didn’t plan either of my businesses, they just happened!

As for the fitness career, I had created an innovative and unique workout. It was a step work out, meant to be performed with a partner, employing the use of two steps. My classes loved the workout, and I experimented with it at my trainings. In 1995, my husband and I made the decision to produce a video of it. Our attorney advised us to incorporate, so that is exactly what we did. We had no idea that this would open the doors in the industry the way that it did. The business expanded from there to include all of the other activities.

Pamela’s Exclusive Floral & Event Design was formed after several young women in my church asked me to do the flowers for their weddings. That was in 1999, and we have steadily grown into the full service business that we are today.

4. What do you like most and least about being your own boss?

The biggest reason I love being my own boss is because I get to initiate my own ideas and shoot for the stars without someone telling me it can’t be done. I like working from my home, and the flexibility that comes with that. However, what I love is also what I don’t like. I can never truly get away from my work without leaving my home, and the ideas never stop. I often overload myself, due to my tendency to take on more projects than I should.

5. What personality traits and skills are needed to run a business?

First of all, I believe that for a person to be a successful entrepreneur, they have to have a passion for what they are doing. If you don’t have that passion, you will burn out, because owning your own business is hard work! Integrity is key, too.

Being able to interface with people on a personal level; possessing good people skills is essential.

A sense of humor goes a long way to being able to withstand the pressure of the day-to-day problems that arise.

I believe that it is important to have some organizational skills to keep the business running on track, and on budget.

Your employees must be a reflection of your mission statement. They are the true face of your business. Be careful who you hire, and treat them well when you find a good one.

6. What has been the most difficult part of being an entrepreneur?

Time management! I have my fingers in so many pies, and wear so many totally different hats, that I get very frustrated, because I want to do even more.

Transitions are tough. Every business goes through them. Last year, we went through a lot of growing pains. We needed more workers, but since I price jobs months in advance, I didn’t have the budget to hire more. It cut into my profit to have to train new employees and put them on the job. We eventually caught up, once I was able to quote new jobs to include new hires.

7. Do you have any resources that you would recommend?

BNI, Business Networking International, is a great local resource for growing your business, regardless of what it is that you do. It’s like having 25-40 salespeople working for you for free. Look on-line to http://www.bni.com/ to find a chapter in your area.

I do a lot of social networking and blogging. I enjoy both, but neither has really grown my businesses yet, but you never know who you will meet on-line or the connections they may have. With my blogs, I am laying a good foundation for a readership of a soon to be published book I am writing.

I am a member of the Boomer Diva Nation, Founded in 2007, by Beverly Mahone. This is an incredibly gifted group of Baby Boomer women who are shaking things up, and paving the way for women around the world. We network daily. I met Beverly on My Space.

8. Do you have any tips to share on promoting your business?

Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer! Volunteering to speak at Civic Groups, schools, churches, everywhere someone would listen, is how I got my start. When you are involved in your community, someone will eventually ask what you do for a living. People like to do business with people they trust. You build trust among people with whom you are working concession stands!

Call your local newspapers and offer to write articles on your area of expertise. Submit these articles to trade publications, and other magazines.

Offer discounted or free services for a limited amount of time, to gain a loyal customer. Donate door prizes for fundraisers. Build a name in your community.

Trade publications are useful to learning more about your business, and how others in your field handle growth or problems. For us, trade shows are the foundation of our business. We promote directly to the brides.

I would not recommend wasting your resources for advertising in publications or in media that doesn’t target your market. Save your marketing dollars for a big hit to your demographic. We learned that the best value for our dollar was to advertise in bridal magazines, as opposed to the newspaper.

Having an on-line presence is necessary. Our web site, because it displays our work, is our best advertisement. Make sure that yours looks professional, not too busy, and is easy to navigate.

9. What advice do you have for someone starting their own business?

Do your homework! Research whether there is a demand for your services in your area.

Have a plan. You will take too many detours, if you don’t have a map to where you want to go.

Persevere!

10. How can we contact you about your products or services?

You can call me at 800-PAM-2861 or contact me on-line:

afcpam@mindspring.com or pam@pamelaseventdesign.com

Pamela’s Exclusive Floral & Event Design
http://www.pamelaseventdesign.com/ blog: http://www.idoweddings.wordpress.com/

Archer Fitness Consultants, Inc.
Blog: http://www.archerfitpress.wordpress.com/

11. Is there anything else you would like to share?

Be consistent, endure, and true to yourself. Follow your dreams and your heart, and you will succeed.

Have You Checked Your Alignment Lately?

It's Wednesday and I've accomplished absolutely nothing this week. I just can't seem to get motivated. I guess it's time to check my alignment once again.

What's that? Check my alignment? Why whatever do you mean?

Let me explain. About eight years ago, I was in the same situation. I had lost all motivation. I just couldn't find the excitement and the passion for my work that I'd had in the past. I actually dreaded having to go to work each day. Then I read an amazing article. It said that just as your car will squeak and make unpleasant sounds when it is not in alignment, so too will your soul when your business tasks are not in alignment with your vision, mission and values.

Before investing more time and efforts to take your business or organization to a fascinating new level, you must re-evaluate first what your primary values are, how you prioritize them inside you, and, see if your business activities support and are in alignment with the priority of your values.

For example, eight years ago my father, who had Alzheimer's, moved in with me. At the time, I used to travel quite a bit to speak to specific groups of people to market the business for the company I worked for. To be successful and get promoted, I needed to travel and speak and network more frequently. There were lots of late nights and long weeks and too many weekends when I was not at home.

But, family life is on the very top of my priority list, in a place higher than business or career success. So, whenever my work required that I travel for an extensive amount of time, my inner self experienced a misalignment. I still went ahead and did what my “head” told me I was supposed to do, but my heart was centered to my values. When the head pulls the whole body to do what it dictates it to do, the heart starts to send out signals to you that if you don’t make adjustments, you will not stay in wholesome health any longer. The heart sends out signals by decreasing your enthusiasm, motivation and self-esteem. You start seeing yourself get down more easily, you feel lonely, not understood and you feel that you get angry easily or you get blamed for shutting your emotions. And that is exactly what happened. Whereas I once enjoyed traveling and meeting with our clients, now I simply wanted to get the trip over with so I could get home. I started making excuses to cut trips short or to send someone else. And when I had to go I was sick and depressed most of the time. I did not give clients the attention they had come to expect. I knew I had to do something or instead of getting that promotion, I would be looking for a different job!

In the article, it said that one of the easiest ways to figure out what your values are and in what priority they are in is to make a “Desire List.” Ask yourself , “What do you want?” Then, begin to jot down your list of answers. Don’t judge yourself for your wants. You need to create a safe and open environment for yourself so that your true self gets uncovered. Don’t be ashamed to say, “I want to own a house by the lake with an amazing view to the mountains and a dock for launching your very own boat.” Or, “I want to be the most influential leader and the expert of experts of my field.” Or, “I want to be a famous dancer!” Just let things flow. Let the same question come at you for 10 to 15 minutes. You may start getting bored of the same question, but you may start seeing what is hiding under those wants. Your initial “wants” are really saying, “I want to be recognized.” “I want to be trusted and respected.” “I wanted to be loved by my family members.’ “I want to be understood and loved for the real me.” “I want to make a difference in this world.”

Your wants and desires express your values.

Take your top 5 values and complete the following questions to get an inner alignment:
1. What are you doing on a daily basis to support these values?
2. What are you doing on a daily basis that does not support these values or that are in conflict with these values?
3. How can you modify your business life so that you support your most important values? How can you eliminate or start eliminating business activities that are in conflict with your values? If these business activities are important to the growth of your business, what else is out there for you to consider for the replacement of such activities. Take the example above; ask yourself if you can find out ways to market the same audience through the phone, internet and other ways? Hold a teleseminar? For me, the answer was fairly simple - and terribly scary! I decided to quit my job and start a business that I could run from home at least part time.

If you are a busy business owner or organizational leader, you will have many activities and to-do’s everyday. Form the habit to run your business tasks through these results-proven questions and get your alignment checked periodically. It's the best way to keep yourself headed for success. So, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to Starbucks for a lube job with a Grande White Chocolate Mocha and an alignment. Once I get myself straightened out, I'll run much more efficiently!

What You Can Expect from Me

I have spent a lot of time trying this product and that system only to wind up broke and disillusioned. "Make money while you sleep!" "Start your cash machine today." Promises, promises. And I bought into every one of them.

Can you make money on the internet or through a home based business? You betcha! Is it easy? Depends on what you call easy. Will you have to work some long hours and (uh-oh) invest a little cash? You will if you really want to build some wealth. Will what worked for me work for you too? Maybe - maybe not. There is no one-size-fits-all method to earn financial freedom.

I have learned some things in my struggle to earn a living from the comfort of my home. Things like which programs really do work and which are just scams. Ways to save the money you do earn. People you can connect with who really will give you advice. How to stay healthy while you are building your online "empire." Resources to help you get there faster. I will happily share my adventures and misadventures with anyone who wants to avoid the mistakes I made. Not everything I share will be of use to you. Take what you need - leave the rest. All I want is to share my experiences with you and maybe we can all learn to live an abundant life - together. And if you have some expertise on any topic, please feel free to share it with us. WealthTogether means just that. We are all in this world together and everyone has the right to live abundantly. God WANTS us to live an abundant life. We are MEANT to be successful. What that means to you depends on what you want from life. I would not have made it without the help of others. Now I want to do the same for you.

I hear someone out there asking who is this person? I have never seen her marketing anything. Probably not. And just because you never heard of me until now does not mean I don't know what I'm talking about. There are thousands of people making wonderful lives for themselves at home and online and I'll bet you never heard of most of them. They don't spend a lot of time promoting themselves. They just go about their business every day - whatever it is. I will introduce you to some of them because they have helped me and they will help you too.

We're off to discover Wealth - Together! Come along for the ride!