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How Can I Live in Amsterdam a Few Months Each Year?

October 31, 2008 by Amanda | Comments (2)

Last weekend Tim Ferriss, author of the The 4-Hour Workweek, dished with the attendees of BiztechDay for two hours. I finally asked him my burning question: How do I take a few months off a year to live in Amsterdam and still manage my business? This has been on my to-do list for the last five years, I just haven’t creatively figured a way to make it happen.

These are his suggestions for me:

· Search home exchange sites
· Throw or give away half of what I own to decrease my attachment to Seattle
· Do my business in Amsterdam and work for the Dutch. He says I could work one-third of the amount of time and still make the same amount of money, with the current value of the dollar.
· Create an online mailbox with Earth Class Mail
· Re-read the mini retirement chapter of his book, The 4-Hour Workweek
· Underplan, underpack… just do it!
· Read Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel by Rolf Potts, and I will be out of here tomorrow!

Do you have more creative ideas for me?

Safe Women-Friendly Travel Locations

October 31, 2008 by Amanda | Comments (2)

At CRAVE we are all about adventure and new experiences. We heart our hometown, but love escaping to exotic destinations whenever our schedules (and wallets) permit it! Traveling is a powerful and productive way to reconnect with girlfriends. Learning about different cultures, meeting new people, sampling curious shops, and noshing on colorful cuisine are our favorite aspects of explorations abroad.

Jessica Labrencis of USA Today compiled a fantastic article on safe, women-friendly travel destinations. Read her whole post here or selected highlights below.

Amsterdam
Most cities in Western Europe are considered safe for women to visit, either alone or with companions. Public transportation is generally safe, English is widely spoken, and European women have many of the same rights as American women.

SmarterTravel.com Editorial Assistant Kate Hamman took a month-long trip to Europe in the fall of 2005 that included three days in Amsterdam. It defied her dubious expectation of a city that revolved around sex and drugs. Hamman says, “I thought I might be harassed, but I actually found it to be an excellent place to wander around alone… I wouldn’t recommend wandering around the Red Light District alone at night, but there’s so many great areas that most people overlook.”

Costa Rica
Much of Latin America has a bad reputation as being unsafe for women, with tales of “forward” men, pick-pocketing, and harassment prevalent. However, Costa Rica has been increasingly popular with Americans, and it’s considered one of the safest Latin American destinations, particularly outside of San Jose, the capital.

Costa Ricans have adopted the motto “pura vida” or “pure life,” which has various meanings, but roughly translates to “living the good life.” Many locals with this attitude seem very laid-back, and go out of their way to help visitors.

Costa Rica is also a good destination for women on a budget. Comfortable, safe accommodations are available for less than $40 per night, and Costa Rica has plenty of ecotourism and luxury accommodations as well. Shared vans shuttle small groups of tourists around the country so you don’t have to rely on public buses or a rental car.

Vietnam
In 2005, Vietnam was named one of the world’s safest countries by Aon, a large insurance broker. In the past, Vietnam was considered an off-beat alternative to Thailand, but as more travelers discover the charms of Southeast Asia, it is becoming a popular destination in its own right.

Susan Cortell of Montauk, New York, traveled to Vietnam in May on a Gutsy Women Travel tour (in conjunction with Women’s Sacred Travel tours) that focused on sightseeing and shopping, and included emphasis on wellness (massage) and the metaphysical (a Buddhist cleansing ceremony).

When asked about her experiences in Vietnam, Cortell says, “I loved Vietnam… I not only felt safe there, but very, very welcomed. Especially in Hanoi and Hoi An.” Cortell also notes that she appreciated how far her dollars went in Vietnam. She remembers paying $3 per person for a three-course dinner in Hoi An, and buying silk scarves for less than $5. In fact, Cortell says “a group of us want to go back just for the shopping, as the savings will pay for the trip.”

Your turn! Dish about the best (or worst) trip you have gone on with your girlfriends.

Highlights of BiztechDay in San Francisco

October 29, 2008 by Amanda | Comments (3)

After hearing about BiztechDay from three different resources, I decided to jump on a plane and head to San Francisco for a day. I wasn’t going to shop, just focus on business. However, I found myself in the shoe department of Bloomingdale’s where I found my long-searched-for tobacco-colored over-the-knee boots (oops another pair of boots!).

I want to share with you my take-away highlights of the conference.

1. Meeting and listening to keynote speaker Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, was worth the whole trip to San Francisco. He didn’t have enough time to touch every topic he wanted to cover, so he came back at happy hour and did an informal Q&A for two hours while we all drank wine.

My take-away on Tim:

Lifestyle Design
Tough economic situations are great times to re-examine your lifestyle priorities. If the life has been sucked out of you, here are three tips to re-discover that you are a fun person!
· Go on vacation for three weeks without checking email. Take minimal photos. Remove yourself from your busy everyday life and get out of your current routine.
· Learn a language or new sport.
· Go to a crowded place, lay down on the floor for 10 minutes, then get up and leave.

Outsourcing
Eliminate and delegate. Elance.com is his go-to resource for hiring independent professionals.

Blogging
When you blog, write like you’re talking to your best friends after having two drinks. He says the best place to meet bloggers is in person at events. Don’t call them, don’t email them, and don’t pitch them.

Favorite Books
Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel by Rolf Potts
Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert

Here is what I learned from other experts.

2. Email marketing tips

Use the “three second rule.” Think about these three steps readers take to determine if they will read your email or not.
1. Who is contacting me?
2. Why are they contacting me?
3. Should I read further?

Pick a strong subject line, concise and to-the-point. The best time to send email is from 10am to 3pm on weekdays. This way, you’ll be sure to avoid being in the newsletter group that succumbs to bulk deletion first thing in the morning.

3. Use Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, iTunes, YouTube, and Twitter, to create your web presence.

Facebook
Start a business page (learn how in the advertising section) to get fans instead of friends. Business pages have more bells and whistles than the old way of creating groups, plus you can have multiple pages. Shut your groups down and start over!

LinkedIn
Ask questions and answer questions.

Flickr
Create groups.

iTunes
Create podcasts to post on your blog through wordpress.org. They automatically load on iTunes. A tip for easy podcasts: read your blog posts!

YouTube
Start your own business page. Buy a small camera (I recommend the ultra-compact Flip Video Camera) that you can carry around with you.

Twitter
Get on it for business. Tell people what’s happening RIGHT NOW. Participate in conversation, don’t just broadcast. Incorporate on your blog and Facebook. Keep it personal and be human–a real person. Make sure your tweets are relevant to your followers. Share 90% resources and 10% yourself.

Those the highlights from my pages of notes. More later on the dilemma I proposed to Tim Ferriss: How I can creatively figure out how to live in Amsterdam a few months out of the year.

Thank you Edith for putting on a top notch event!

Jeepers Creepers! Where'd Ya Get Those Eyes?

October 29, 2008 by Amanda | Comments (0)

I took a last-minute trip to San Francisco last weekend for the BiztechDay conference and camped out in my friend Allie’s fabulous loft. She was going to San Francisco’s largest Halloween bash with her girlfriends, and they went as crazy women from Bellevue. Check out these EYES!

She doesn’t normally wear contact lenses and said it felt funny at first, but she got used to them and was the hit of the party! This was all the night before she emceed the conference at 7am the next morning. Read my review of the BiztechDay conference here.

CRAVEcation at Seattle’s Alexis Hotel

October 27, 2008 by Amanda | Comments (0)

A few weekends ago my friend Sonja, foundress of Tacoma’s Sonja: Clothes To Live In, and I took a break from busy, autumn days and relaxed for a night at the Alexis Hotel.

We started our CRAVEcation on a Sunday at 5pm and finished Monday at noon. It was the just the amount of time we needed to catch up–longer than a dinner meeting, but short enough that you won’t have 100 emails waiting for you when you get back!

The Alexis Hotel is located in a great, central location where you can walk to the Pike Place Market in just a few short blocks. We dined at Café Campagne, and window shopped at Tulip and Sandylew along the way.

In the morning, we headed out in the rain with the hotel umbrellas. A walk on the waterfront, coffee and treats at Macrina Bakery and Café, and a stop at A Mano to drool over boots and dish with Nealy, the proprietress, ended the perfect 20-hour CRAVEcation. I want those over-the-knee brown boots from Spain. Why am I so obsessed about knee-high boots this season? I want them in every color!

Position Your Business for Success

October 27, 2008 by Amanda | Comments (1)

Karen L. Waddington, professional speaker and marketing guru, shares her advice on positioning your business for maximum exposure, profit, and overall success.

In order to position your business competitively, it is important to identify who your best customers are and what you do best. Then look at what you can offer as a unique selling proposition. Just ask Domino’s–remember the “30 minutes or less” promise? Or how about FedEx? They guaranteed overnight shipping. No one else in their industries was making these offerings. By finding something that is unique and that your competitors are not offering, you can create an unmatched position in the market and bring new clients to your business. The reason that products and services exist is to solve a problem. What problem does your company solve?

Positioning can be the most effective part of a communications plan. By defining your position in the market, you can set your companies direction and the path your marketing can take. Positioning costs a lot less that repositioning. Just ask Safeway–they have spent $110-million in two years on repositioning their brand. Can you identify their new position?

Many companies have discovered that if you don’t define your position in the marketplace, the marketplace will define your position for you. And it may not be what you want to be known for. A good position will influence people to buy from you, whether it be a product or service.

So by now you may be asking yourself, “How do I find my position?” Here are some questions to answer that may help you:

· Who is your target audience?
· What is their demographic?
· Who is your ideal customer?
· What is the life cycle of your customer?
· Who are your competitors?
· What is unique about your competitors?

And here are some tips for good positioning:

· Define what you do best and use that in your marketing.
· Define what is unique about your company that your competitors don’t offer.
· Ask your customers how they perceive you. You might be surprised.
· Put in writing what problem your product or service solves.
· Make your position clear and concise.

Want more business advice from women who have been there and done it? Attend our upcoming workSHOP, tonight from 6:30-9:30 at Horseshoe in Ballard. At the end you will have the inside scoop, tools, and resources to confidently grow your business!

CRAVE will be at the Thread Show this Sunday

October 24, 2008 by Amanda | Comments (2)

Shopping at the mall is for teenagers and people from Minnesota. Take your personal style to the next level at THREAD, a fashion event where the city’s top high-end fashion designers show complete collections, then sell them at discounted prices.

CRAVE will have a booth at the show, meeting and greeting and selling CRAVE Seattle: The Urban Girl’s Manifesto books. See you there!

Improve Your Posture and Boost Your Confidence

October 24, 2008 by Amanda | Comments (0)

As the year winds down, days shorten and temperatures drop, and we feel ourselves just crawling toward the 2008 finish line.

In reaction to life’s/work’s worries and concerns, our posture deteriorates–our shoulders may become hunched, our necks stiff, and we sit either slumped or holding ourselves in a rigid upright position.

In the business world, the way you walk and your posture portray your confidence before you even shake hands, start a conversation, or begin your pitch.

The body experts at Women’s Health Magazine have come up with some brilliant key moves that target your trapezius (in your upper back) to help improve your posture. Read the full article here or find excerpts below.

Shrug
Grab a 5- to 15-pound dumbbell in each hand and stand with your feet about hip-width apart. With your arms at your sides, lift your shoulders toward your ears. Hold for five seconds, then lower. Repeat for one minute.

Trap Walk
Get on a treadmill with a 5- to 10-pound dumbbell in each hand. Bend your elbows 90 degrees and raise them to shoulder height with palms facing forward. Walk at an easy pace and bring your forearms toward each other and back out with the rhythm of your footsteps. Continue for 1 minute. Next, start in the same arm position, but raise them straight up then pull them down in time with your steps, also for 1 minute. Last, combine the moves for a minute: in, out, up, down. That’s 1 set. Do 4 sets, resting for 30 to 60 seconds between each.

30-Second Fix: Tight Upper Back From Typing All Day?
Sit in a chair with your spine straight and your feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart and parallel to each other. Grab the right edge of the seat with your right hand and lean to the left as far as you can, keeping both glutes on the chair and pressing down with your right shoulder. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds. Repeat to the other side.

At Home Spa Party Tips and Recipes

October 24, 2008 by Amanda | Comments (2)

One of our favorite ways to escape this increasingly cold weather is throwing an at home spa party. It is a fun and effective way to pamper and socialize without breaking the bank.

We caught up with Seattle entrepreness Megan Bingham, founder of OffWhite Beauty, to dish about fall spa party essentials. Read her thoughtful suggestions below.

Ambiance/Planning
Move clunky furniture and breakables out of your ‘spa’ area, and divide your room into activity-related stations. Place comfy cushions, pillows and/or yoga mats on the floor for seating. Before your guests arrive dim the lights, light aromatic candles, and select soothing background music.

Sip/Savor
Simple snacks like hummus and pita bread, crudites, and toasted pumpkin seeds are perfect for noshing. Mineral water, and a signature cocktail should do the trick for sipping. Megan suggests the ‘Veluxenog’ — Mix 1 oz of Captain Morgans Spiced Rum, 1 oz of Vodka, and 4 oz of eggnog on top of crushed ice. Stir. Throw a pinch each of nutmeg and cinnamon on top.

Foot Soak
Fill a foot tub full with medium-hot water. Add 1.5 cups epsom salt, 4-5 drops of lavender oil, 4-5 drops eucalyptus oil, and 1 tablespoon of baby oil. This combination will not only clean and disinfect your feet, but will bring relief to dry cracked skin.

Post Foot Soak Cuticle Treatment
Add together in a glass jar or dish 1.5 oz Carrier oil, 3 drops calendula oil, 3 drops lavender oil, and 4 drops rosemary oil. Mix together, then apply to the cuticles of your feet and fingers. Let it sit for up to five minutes. Then with a cuticle brush, push back your cuticles, thus clearing away all the dead skin and leaving your nail strong and shiny.

Moisturizing Facial Mask
Add 1 ripe avocado (peeled and pitted) to a bowl. Next add 1 egg yolk, 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (virgin organic if possible), 1 tablespoon evening primrose oil, and 1 teaspoon of plain yogurt… goat works too! Mix together and apply to face. The mask should stay on for 10-15 minutes.

Scrub
Add together in a glass jar or bottle 3 oz of coarse sea salt, 1 oz almond oil, 18 drops of grapefruit essential oil, 10 drops lavender oil, 14 drops tangerine oil, and 1 tablespoon of warmed coconut oil. Mix together and apply to your body while dry. Work in a circular motion from head to toe, then rinse.

Have you ever done an at home spa party? What was the biggest hit?

Up to 50% off Spa Services at Bowie Salon & Spa Through October

October 23, 2008 by Amanda | Comments (0)

As tans fade and thoughts of the holidays arise, take time to refresh your skin with an exfoliating facial or peel. During the month of October, Bowie Salon and Spa (206.568.3300, 1507 Belmont Ave between Pike and Pine) is offering spa services at up to 50% off for new customers. Now offering GloProfessional peels and exfoliants, has there ever been a better time to indulge?

Call for availability and details.

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