I have made it my own personal goal over the last year to travel as much a possible. In the last two years I've explored local hot spots in Michigan as well as spent time in kayaking Pictured Rocks in Michigan's U.P., hiking Hocking Hills in Ohio, swimming with manatees in Florida's Crystal River, dog sledding in the Rocky Mountains, catching an outdoor Red Wings hockey game in Denver, and discovering an awesome national park called Pointe Peelee in Canada. And, currently, I am planning a trip to Iceland for later this year.

As my career heats up, I find myself appreciating time away more and more. And with each trip I find myself getting more out of the experience for my career.

1. Becoming a Self-Starter
If you have the ability, try taking a solo trip... even if it is as simple as a cross-state road trip. This gives you the ability to discover a place at your own pace without having to worry about someone rushing you along. You get to plan the trip and do whatever you want, when you want. This helps teach you to be a self­-starter and are able to accomplish tasks on your own.

2. Using Team Work (To Make the Dream Work)
But we all know, traveling is much better when you have someone to share with with. You know you have a good friend when you can travel alongside someone for an extended period of time and only get into a fight once. Traveling with another person or a group of people helps you to be able to work with another personality on a project as well as practice your teamwork abilities and conflict resolution skills.

3. Becoming Flexible
I personally love to have a specific itinerary planned out before going on a trip. But sometimes it makes the trip better to just have an idea of what you want to do then let the experience lead the way. Flexibility is important in both travel and in your career. Not everything will go according to plan, and that is OK.

4. Making Connections with People
While traveling you'll meet all kinds of people, from all walks of life, that you wouldn't have met otherwise. These types of people wouldn't necessarily have fallen into your typical circle and befriending them may be a challenge. Being able to make a positive connection with someone unlike yourself if a trait that will help you the rest of your life.

5. Ignoring Stereotypes
Whether your traveling stateside or internationally, you're bound to find yourself confronted by stereotypes at every turn. You've heard it: "French people hate Americans." But in fact, they don't. And my native state of Michigan says a lot of bad stuff about Ohio (we're college football rivals) but hiking after hiking in Hocking Hills, I was blown away by this state's beauty. Don’t let others bring you down or persuade your view on anyone or anything. Make your own conclusions.

6. Learning to Adjust
Similar to being flexible with those you are traveling with, it is also important to be flexible with adjusting to your surrounding. Paying attention to cultural customs and community norms. It is not for you to make them bend to your preference but for you to adjust to the their culture.

7. Trying Something New
Make sure to try something new where ever your travels take you. Bonus points to traveling to new places! By intentionally putting yourself outside of your comfort zone you will be ready and able to adapt to uncomfortable situations during your career with ease.

8. Disconnecting is Good for the Brain
And finally, traveling does wonders for your brainpower. The best thing about truly immersing yourself in your trip is that you don’t have to be constantly in touch. You're not chained to your laptop or tethered to your phone. When you disconnect, you reconnect with your brain, this can bring the creative juices flowing again, if you’ve been run dry. Traveling and disconnecting is the key to avoiding burnout.

Have you learned other valuable life lessons during your travels? Perhaps some wise notions that will help you throughout your career? Share them in the comments below!

What are your goals?

Such a simple question, but it often times difficult for social media managers to answer—much to their surprise! I love this example from Kim Garst: Let’s say you want to “get in shape”. Getting “in shape” is a subjective term. How do you know when you are there? Most people use weight as an indicator of what kind of shape they are in and most people have a “number” of pounds that they want to lose. So, let’s say you set a goal to lose 30 pounds and that when you do you are going to consider yourself “in shape”. Now we have a goal with a measurable objective. You can track your progress towards that goal every time you step on the scale. If you want to take it a step further, give yourself a deadline. “I want to lose 30 pounds before my high school reunion in 4 months”.

So if we are comfortable setting and working goals for most everything else, why do so few people do it with social media?

My advice is to start big and work down. Start by asking yourself these questions:

• What exactly do you want social media to do for you/your company? 
• Do you want to use it to improve your customer service? 
• Do you want to use it to boost attendance at your events? 
• Do you want to use it to sell products and services? 

Goal setting is really important. Most of the time people set a performance indicator without knowing what, if any goal that supports. They say, “I want 50,000 Facebook Fans.” But why? Having 50,000 fans means nothing if it does not support your overall goals and objectives.

Before you move forward with your social media actions, stop and take a few minutes and write down your social media goals. Where possible make goals objective and attach a deadline.

If you need a little help in deciding what your goals should be, remember the S.M.A.R.T. goal-setting method. Make sure your goals are Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely.

Now it's time to build your strategy.

Now that you have planned out and attainable social media goals, it's time to put together a strategy to reach those goals.

The basic social media sites you use and the amount of resources you need to commit to each varies dramatically based on your goals. All too often people think, for example, they have to use Facebook because "it's the most popular" or they want to exclude Twitter altogether because they "don't get it." This isn't the right attitude for developing your strategy. Although your personal opinion matters, choosing the right social media sites to support your goals matters more.

Going back to Kim's analogy: Imagine if you said “Well, I hate vegetables, but I love hot fudge sundaes, so I am going to eat 3 hot fudge sundaes every day to lose weight!”

If you sell retail goods to women, then Pinterest is the place for you. High end professional services? Then LinkedIn is a good place to spend much of your time. Are you a photographer? Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest are definitely more photo and graphics driven. You are more likely to connect to your ideal client there.



It's important that you understand the capabilities of all the social platforms as well as their popular target demographics and what types of content performs well.

On top of picking the right social media platform, your strategy should also include other items such as the resources you will need, key performance indicators (KPI’s), and the measurement tools you will use to track them among other things.

Stop and prepare.

It's so easy at this point to just go out and start posting. However, you should stop and prepare for your launch ahead of time.

Now that you have identified the social media sites you are going to use and established your social media goals and strategy, take some time to prepare before you start generating content. Take this time to

• Create credible, consistent branding to be used across all of your social media sites
• Optimize your profile with website links, keywords
• Update your “About” sections
• Inter-connect sites or create easy navigation amongst them where possible
• Learn the basics on how to use the site, the basic terms of service and etiquette

These days the #1 trusted resource for consumers is peer-to-peer reviews and word or mouth testimonials and, thanks to the wonderful digital world we live in, most of these recommendations happen through social media.

And the most trusted sources for these reviewers are known in the marketing industry as "influencers."

Influencers are individuals who can sway the sentiments of their online audience in a particular direction regarding a brand, idea, business, person, or any other entity. These people can make or break your reputation.

And since, whether you like it or not, there is already a conversation happening about your brand on social media, it would be best to get out ahead of it and start an influencer marketing campaign to build the trust and recognition among a large audience thanks to a popular voice on social.

To learn more about how Influencers can boost your business, check out my post on MELT.

Also if you're interested in getting started with an influencer marketing campaign, tune in to my online MELT workshop, How to Run a Social Influencer Program, on April 20 for everything you need to know!

March is Women's History Month and in celebration, here are some of my most inspiring quotes from influential women!

Oh @sherylsandberg you get us every time. pic.twitter.com/COz1ZVxxxU

— Women Rising (@TheWomenRising) March 29, 2016

In honor of International Women's Day, here are a few resources for women looking for professional development and mentoring opportunities in Metro Detroit:

Join Women Rising
If you are a woman in the tech or business industries, living in or around Detroit than this group is for you! Women Rising is an organization that pairs up its members based on industry and interests each month for some informal networking and mentoring!

Once you join, Women Rising will send you a questionnaire to determine your company position, industry, and your career goals. In the middle of each month, they will match you with two other compatible women for a fun and supportive mini-meetup that your group organizes on your own. It may be something as simple as a coffee meetup or a Skype call. The women you're paired with will be a mix of seasoned professionals and entry level for a well-rounded experience. Then the next month your network will grow by another two connections as Women Rising continues to pair you up.

Through Women Rising you will continue to meet intelligent and influential women every month for career advice or for developing new friendships! And the best part is that Women Rising is free to join!

If you are interested in joining Women Rising, visit www.womenrising.co.

Take Entrepreneurial Development Classes
Inforum, the professional women's organization, is working with two local leaders in finance and entrepreneurship for a program Inforum bills as the equivalent of master's classes in entrepreneurial development for women business owners called inGAGE.

The goal? In Inforum's words: "Positioning Michigan as the Midwest hub for high-growth women entrepreneurs."

The classes, which are sponsored by the Michigan Economic Development Corp (MEDC) and the New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan, will help entrepreneurs assess their company's operations, finances and personnel; provide them professional coaching and mentors; and introduce them to sources of capital to fund growth. The current session of inGAGE classes is taught by Patti Glaza, a vice president at Invest Detroit who is managing director of its First Step and Detroit Innovate funds. She has also been CEO of several tech startups.

Applications are now being accepted for the second master's class, which will meet one Friday a month from April 22 to Dec. 9. It will be taught by Paula Sorrell, an Ann Arbor-based business consultant who recently finished a four-year stint as vice president for entrepreneurship for the MEDC. The cost to attend, $1,500, includes Inforum membership. For more information visit, www.inforummichigan.org/ingagemasterclass.

Join Inforum
On top of the inGAGE classes, Inforum offers a lot of other education, networking, and development opportunities and events all meant to help you make strategic and valuable connections, build relationships, expand your network, gain insight from thought-leaders, and hone your leadership skills.

Inforum's event calendar is really impressive. Just in the coming months it includes dozens of events geared at networking, learning, and community service. It's definitely worth checking out!

For more information on joining inforum, visit www.inforummichigan.org/making-right-connections.

Do you know more resources and organizations specifically for women in Metro Detroit? Let me know in the comments and I'll add them to the list!

As we celebrate International Women's Day today (March 8) as a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, I am reminded how important my work with the Girl Scouts is and the impact that I am leaving on their lives.

Data shows:

• Over 80% of Girl Scouts say that Scouting has helped them to feel more confident in taking the lead
• 94% of Girl Scouts say they feel like they can play a part in addressing issues important to them
• 3 out of 4 girls say that because of Girl Scouts they have become a leader in more activities with their friends, classmates, and their communities
• 71% of Girl Scout alumni consider themselves competent and capable, compared to only 55% of non-alumni who feel the same

WAGGGS reaches 10 million girls and young women in 146 countries across five regions. Together, the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts are the largest voluntary movement dedicated to girls and young women in the world. Their mission is to enable girls and young women to develop their fullest potential as responsible citizens of the world, and their vision is for all girls and young women to be valued and to take action to change the world. And they've been transforming lives around the world for more than 100 years.

Together Girl Scouts and International Women's Day aim to empower girls and young women to stand up and speak out on issues affecting them, and they support girls to be leaders and make positive choices.

And to-date, Girl Scouting has an impressive track record:

• 2/3 of U.S. Congresswomen were once Girl Scouts
• At least 80% of women business owners were Girl Scouts
• Nearly every female astronaut who has flow into space was a Girl Scout

With leadership is at the core of Girl Scouting, leaders like myself aim to provide girls with dynamic and flexible training in life skills, leadership and citizenship all to develop the world's future female leaders.


How to Celebrate International Women's Day the Girl Scout Way:

1. Buy Cookies! Did you know the Girl Scout Cookies program is the largest girl-led business in the world? And that it teaches and builds some of the most important business skills the girls will use their entire lives? Through Cookie sales the girls practice goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics. Even our girls, 2nd and 3rd graders, learned and practiced daily "elevator speeches" and perfected their sales pitches to be used individually and during our troop cookie booths. We worked on our math skills by totaling orders, making change, and keeping an inventory of what cookies we had in stock. We also mastered customer service by making sure every girl was courteous, polite, helpful and knowledgeable about the product. This is how the next generations of entrepreneurs and leaders is created! Click here to find where to buy Girl Scout Cookies near you. Or if we know each other personally and you're in the area, let me know and my troop would be happy to sell you some cookies!

2. Make a Donation - If you're interested in being a part of International Women's Day's support of Girl Scouting and the entire WAGGGS community, consider making a donation. Your support helps deliver high quality programs and campaigns that provide girls and young women dynamic, flexible and training in life skills, leadership and citizenship. Click here to donate through International Women's Day. For more information on the partnership, click here.

By now you don't need me to tell you that first impressions are everything. And never has there been a truer statement than when it comes to LinkedIn profiles. You might have the most impressive resume but before they read the first word of your profile, prospective employers and clients visiting your page are going to see your picture.

And since a bad first impression could cost you a job or a valuable contact/networking opportunity, your profile picture is arguably one of the most important elements of your profile.

To make sure you're putting your best foot (or shall I say, face) out there, your picture should convey your competence, likability, and influence.

In a recent study by PhotoFeeler profile photos and their impressions were studied to determine what elements created the ideal profile photo for social media sites and blog profiles. The study was based on over 60,000 ratings of perceived competence, likability, and influence.

It’s no secret that I am a bit nerdy and obsessed with being organized and on top of things. I'm also obsessed with staying up to speed on the latest and greatest technologies. And since my phone is one thing I simply can’t live without, I'm always searching for great apps to make my work and personal life more efficient.

Now I've done the dirty work for you and tried out a bunch of apps to put together a list of the top 12 mobile apps for young professionals. Take a peek below—you’ll wonder how you ever functioned without these lifesavers.



For the Office
30/30: (iOS) When you’re pulled in a 100 different directions at work, it can be hard to focus. 30/30 helps manage your work cycles by setting timers for tasks. When a timer is running, you can focus on getting one task done without distractions.

Doodle: (iOS; Android) When scheduling a meeting with many people from different workplaces, finding a time that works for everyone can be next to impossible. Doodle lets meeting participants submit their daily schedules and then comes up with feasible meeting times for everyone.

Trello: (iOS; Android) This is project management made easy! Trello is great for collaborating with a team—especially when brainstorming ideas, allocating tasks, and monitoring checklists.

LastPass: (iOS; Android) Nothing drives me crazier than having passwords that expire every 60 days (and can't repeat for 5 years). If you're like me then that means you probably also have a million tricky passwords to remember. With LastPass you can store all your passwords in one single and secure place.

For Home
Our Home: (iOS; Android) When everyone in your house has a packed schedule it is hard to get everyone into a room. Our Home is a private social network for families and roommate situations that allows everyone to organize and assign tasks and chores as well as create and share grocery lists. Members of your household can choose which things they want to accomplish and check them off as their completed. No more post-its all over the house saying "more toilet paper" or "the sink is leaking" with Our Home.

Mint: (iOS; Android) This app helps you keep an eye on your hard-earned money. Monitor multiple bank accounts and investments all in one place. You can use it to set spending limits for categories and it will even alert you when you're coming close or you went over. Plus, the app helps you pay bills on time and budget for big expenses.

Venmo: (iOS; Android) A must-have app for instantly sending money to other people. You can use it to pay coworkers for your half of lunch or for quickly pitching in on that group birthday gift for a friend.

Just for Fun
Refinery29 This AM: (iOS) Created by Refiner29, a media company catering to a young female demographic,Refinery29 This AM delivers a round-up of curated news stories to readers, meant to be viewed first thing in the morning. Stories are presented on eight different cards in the app, and focus on topics including world events, celebrity news, politics and fashion.

Daily Burn: (iOS, Android) As much as I love using work and being too busy as an excuse to skip the gym, I know I really need to find more time for exercising. But with Daily Burn I have no excuse! Daily Burn redefines fitness with online workout videos, nutrition and coaching. In addition to the library of workouts and courses, there is a daily class that airs every morning that covers something different every day. All the workout sessions are streaming so you can get them at home and on the go!

theSkimm: This one isn't exactly an app (yet) but it is still worth noting. theSkimm is a daily e-mail newsletter that gives you everything you need to start your day. They know you don't have time to visit multiple publications in search for all the important news so they do the reading for you and break down the latest news and information with fresh editorial content.

Do you have any apps you'd add to this list? Tell me in the comments!

Although I'm sure Twitter had dreams of better and more intelligent uses for the social media platform rather than celebrity feuding, even its biggest supporters can't deny that watching something this insane and delightful unfold in real time can't happen anywhere else and being a fly on the wall while it all hits the fan is priceless.

So if you've been paying attention to any pop culture over the last few days than you may have noticed the insane amount of drama on social media. Two of the stories worth noting, which have been making the most headlines, is the Twitter feud between Kanye West and Wiz Khalifa and the mind-boggling rant from rapper B.o.B on how he believes the claim that the earth is round is a conspiracy theory.

First some background...

Kanye West vs. Wiz Khalifa
It all started when Kanye West changed the title of his album from SWISH to WAVES this week. The switch inspired some tweeted shade from fellow rapper Wiz Khalifa. The criticism was enough to set West off, and he spent a half hour batting back at Wiz over the quality and authenticity of his music, his clothing choices, the mother of his child (who is also West's ex-girlfriend), and Wiz's cell phone number. The highlights of Kayne's rant include that Kayne a) used the hashtag #wizwearscoolpants, b) promoted his wife's custom emoji line, c) claimed to own Khalifa's child, and d) repeatedly proclaimed himself the greatest artist of all time (of course). After the one-sided rant was over Wiz Khalifa got involved and so did Wiz's baby momma and Kayne's ex, Amber Rose.

In the end, Kanye deleted the majority of his tweets regarding Khalifa saying, "I'ma take these down 'cause it's all about positive energy... Blessings, blessings, positive energy, blessings."

And perhaps Jimmy Kimmel recapped it best on his show last night.

B.o.B vs. A Round Planet Earth
I can't even make this stuff up. So B.o.B, whom you might know from his hits "Airplanes," "Nothin' On You" and "Strange Clouds," gave Monday and interesting twist when he started tweeting about how he believes the Earth is flat. Yes, flat. He also tweeted that he believes NASA is hiding the truth about the edge of the world. He even shared several meaningless diagrams about the planet including one about flight routes that didn't make a lot of sense. It wasn't long before renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson got involved with some of the most intellectual Twitter beef I've ever experienced. It ended with both B.o.B. and Neil deGrasse Tyson rap battling about their ideas of the truth.

Tyson got the last word with: "Your size isn't large enough to notice any curvature at all. If you want to think the world is flat, go right ahead. But if you think the world is flat and you have influence over others, as would successful rappers, or even presidential candidates, then being wrong becomes being harmful."

Marketing Gold

As humans we are undeniable curious and I'm pretty sure its scientific fact that we are physically and mentally unable to mind our own business and carry on with our day when in the presence of car crash. And it is because of these innate behaviors that we become consumed by pop culture media—especially feuds and drama! We just can't look away!

Now in both of these situations, the celebs are totally taking advantage of our curiosity and obsession with drama.

If you look at the entire Kanye/Wiz confrontation you'll see that the whole start of this was over the name of Kanye's new album. Two days ago I didn't know Kanye had a new album but NOW I do, as does millions of other people around the world. In fact, Khalifa also has a new album, Khalifa, dropping on February 5 and Kanye's WAVES is being released less than a week later on February 11. One might say that this feud is just a beautifully plotted marketing ploy.

It's not yet known is there is a hidden agenda behind B.o.B's soul crushing views on generations of scientific discovery but he did successfully survive disappearing into oblivion and becoming irrelevant for another day. One can argue that it is best to be talked about, even negatively, than to be forgotten about entirely.

Whether these feuds are real or staged is still up for debate, however one thing is for sure: it's all marketing gold.

Well today's the day... I made it around the sun another time to celebrate my 28th birthday!

The last several years I've written a list of things I want to accomplish before my next birthday. I went though last year's list this morning and I guess it went okay but I think I can do better this year!

1. Live More Minimalist-icly - Over the last few weeks I've noticed that we have accumulated a lot of stuff in our house. Stuff we don't need, things we've never used, and stuff we'd never miss if it disappeared. I really want to downsize my belongings and live more simplistic. 
2. Travel More - This always makes the top of my lists. All I want to do is see the world.
3. Make a Leaded Glass Window/Insert/Something - This is something that I've been wanting to do for awhile but I've never the the research on classes and how to actually get it done. I'd like to figure all that out and make something for the house. 
4. Have My Dog Certified as a Therapy Dog - Our training this year has been going to well with Juneau. Ultimately I'd like to see her working as a Therapy Dog or Emotional Support. Or maybe we'll just volunteer at the library for kids to read to her.
5. Clean Out My Closet - Seriously, I still own (and sometimes wear) clothing that is over 10 years old. I don't do it out of necessity but instead it's because I have a hard time letting go. A donation bag starts today!
6. Complain Less - I'm really bad at complaining for the sake of complaining. It's not that I'm unhappy it's just that I need to focus more on the good in a situation than the bad.
7. Have a Successful Growing Season in the Greenhouse - Last year we got our plants in late Spring and they did alright. This year I'd like to get the greenhouse up and running as early as possible and get the watering system working too.
8. Give Canning a Real Try - Last fall I tried canning for the first time and it went pretty well. I made applesauce. I'd like to do some canning using things from our greenhouse.
9. Get to the Gym More - Seriously. I have so many good excuses why I can't go. I just need to suck it up and go because being physically fit is part of being a healthy adult.
10. Tackle a Home Improvement Project on My Own - This year I stained and finished our front door but in the next 12 months I want to take on a bigger job!
11. Take My Vitamins - Why is remember to take a few harmless vitamins every day so hard?! I feel so much better when I'm taking them so I really need to make them priority... starting tomorrow.
12. Become More Involved in the Industry - So whether that means the automotive industry or communications and PR, I want to do something that gets me more involved with the world around me.
13. Binge Watch TV Less - Seriously. It can't be good for you! And realistically, there's no prize for finishing first! I'd probably get a lot more laundry done and find time for the gym if I wasn't glued to my couch.
14. Revise Savings Plan - My plan for my personal savings has really been on autopilot since I bought my house 3 years ago. A lot has changed since then and I really could be doing more to save and invest my savings.
15. No Phone an Hour Before Bed - I made this a goal for last year but it didn't happen. Studies show you'll sleep better if you "power down" and hour before hitting the hay.
16. Try Rock Climbing - I have no upper body strength but I looks fun so I'd like to give it a try!
17. Pack My Lunch More - I have been doing good so far this year (27 days and counting) of packing my lunch for work but before that I bought more than I brought. 
18. Go On A Road Trip - I just want to spend a few days driving around, covering a lot of land, and stopping along the way to see local attractions. No real plan. Just a whole lot of fun.
19. Wake Up Earlier - I've gotten into a really bad habit of staying in bed until the last possible moment. That stops now.
20. Hire a Cleaning Person - I've now realized that a clean house makes me happy but cleaning the house does not leave me with a sense of accomplished. If it doesn't make you happy, don't do it!
21. Read More - I sadly only read 8 books last year. I really need to work on that...
22. Volunteer at the Soup Kitchen - I just found out that there is a soup kitchen a few blocks from my house. I've lived in this city my whole life and never knew it was there. 
23. Spend More Time Outside - More bonfires. More dinners on the patio. More BBQing. More reading in the hammock. More everything outdoors.
24. Try New Foods - As much as I hate trying new foods. Being a less picky eater is part of adulting.
25. Continue to be Career Oriented - I think one of the most critical moments of my twenties was when I decided to focus more on my career, bettering myself professionally, and living up to my full potential. There's not time to plateau now. 
26. Drink More Water - I struggle with a healthy water intake on a daily basis. I'm literally never thirsty so I forget. Thankfully for my birthday Marc got me a super-tech connected water bottle that monitors how much water you drink and it reminds you when you haven't drank in awhile. 
27. Keep My Car Cleaner - With a ridiculously hairy dog who loves going in the car plus a very active lifestyle, this is easier said that done. My hair often collects all kinds of random stuff from trips or work then gets covered in hair.
28. Worry Less - I focused on this a lot last year and I'll continue to work on it probably for the rest of my life.