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Bloggers To Watch Out For: Career Coaches

Monday, July 19th, 2010

Over the past few months, the number of people quitting their jobs was greater than the number of people losing their jobs. Savvy quitters build a support network before they take the plunge, and brilliant quitters enlist professional help. Enter: the Certified Career Coach. One part therapist. One part cheerleader. Two parts butt-kicking taskmaster.

Need a solid coach in your corner of the ring? Michelle Ward, Dyana Valentine and Chrissy Scivicque are at the top of their game.

Michelle Ward of When I Grow Up
whenigrowupcoach.com
I’ll admit it — I’m a tad biased in Michelle’s favor. She coached me out of my cubicle doldrums and into freelance bliss, so I owe her my firstborn child. A graduate of NYU / Tisch’s musical theater program and a certified life coach, Michelle brings theatrical flair and a “wagon full of enthusiasm” to every session. She recently raised her rates and is poised to explode, so book a free 30-minute consultation call while you still can.

For a weekly dose of self-exploration, bookmark Michelle’s ongoing blog feature: Tough Question Tuesday.

Dyana Valentine
dyanavalentine.com

Generous. Ambitious. A master of personal marketing. Dyana leads by example, and her clients feel the heat. By her own admission, Ms. Valentine’s coaching style is “not for the weak of heart.” She prides herself on helping self-starters finish what they started, using Community Psychology principles to light the way. As one client put it, “if I had to be shipwrecked on a desert island, I’d want Dyana with me.”

For a no-holds-barred explanation of the power of “no,” check out Dyana’s article on “No-gotiation.”

Chrissy Scivicque of Eat Your Career
eatyourcareer.com
Chrissy serves up a powerhouse combo platter — she’s a certified nutritionist AND an experienced career coach. Yum. As the creator of Office Arrow — a popular resource for administrative professionals — Chrissy has a firsthand grasp on the challenges of running an online business. She’s a clear communicator with a nourishing perspective on life, love and work — and all the snacks in between.

For a trio of tasty coaching treats, download Chrissy Scivicque’s free workbooks on stress management, time management and career reinvention.

ALEXANDRA FRANZEN is a writer + editor + organization freak. She designs rockstar resumes, leads personal branding jam sessions, writes marketing copy and teaches wallflowers how to hustle like a gangsta’. You can find her blogging up a storm at Unicorns for Socialism and tweeting away @alex_franzen.

Daddy’s Day is Almost Here!

Monday, June 14th, 2010

Father’s Day is around the corner and every year its the same. We ponder WHAT to get our dear dads for a gift. We all know that whatever we hand them they’ll be thankful for; but we always want to push the envelope! When we are pressed for time and don’t have the effort left to make something extremely sentimental, here is some advice from your friends at CRAVE on what to do that will make him smile.

Try and remember what your dad is passionate about. Is he an outdoors-man? Cook? Tech-savvy? Music lover? With some passion he has in mind its always easier to direct your gift towards a certain theme and come out successful. It will help you avoid spending hours shopping with no clue of what to get as well as guaranteeing that he will appreciate the gift and the thought you put into it.
If still stuck on where to begin with finding a gift, maybe go in a different direction then a simple gift from the store. Does you’re dad love a certain comedian or band? Grab tickets to a concert.

Dad’s love knowing you want to spend time with them, so if time allows, do an activity that involves doing something together. Time spent is more precious than any other gift money could buy!

Remember first and foremost that its your dad’s day! All that matters truly matters is that you make sure to tell him he’s special and you love him.

Tricks of the Trade

Monday, May 31st, 2010

When great minds come together, amazing things can happen. When great CRAVE minds come together, amazing things DO happen! Part of our mission – along with being the go-to source for all things fab in your city – is to connect women business-owners to the resources, information, and other like-minded women that will enable their success and growth as professionals. So to offer up some advice and inspiration to all of our hard-working entreprenesses, we’ve got a handful of intelligent lady-experts opening up their book of knowledge for us. Consider it the metaphorical – and less painful form of walking a mile in their fiercely fabulous high-heeled shoes. Read on for each experts’ single most important tip for fellow entreprenesses and their favorite part about working with women in business.

Dawn McCooey- McCooey Consulting Group Inc.Woman’s Enterprise Centre
Must-do: Understand the act and the art of juggling. If you know which balls are rubber and which are glass – you can handle anything.
Love-to-do: As a business advisor with Women’s Enterprise Centre, and as a consultant, I love the energy and the synergy of women business owners. I love how they are willing to collaborate and build community.

Carlie Smith- Portobello West
Must-do: Don’t write-off any idea until you’ve looked at it from various perspectives and always run the numbers.
Love-to-do: Female business owners are very supportive of one another and are great at working together to create amazing projects and businesses!

Pauline O’Malley- TheRevenueBuilder
Must-do: Without sales, you don’t have a business. As a woman, you have the natural abilities to persuade others to believe in you. Women are the best sales people in the world; they just don’t know it yet!

Heather White- 2020 Communications
Must-do: Take action!
Love-to-do: Sitting on the shoulders of my clients and watching them make their dreams come true. Female business owners have high energy and it’s a lot of fun to be around them.

Felicia Lee- Ghost CEO Advisor
Must-do: You are not an island – utilize mentors, resources and communities around you to help you build your business.
Love-to-do: Many women entrepreneurs are afraid of sales.  It’s been incredibly rewarding to see the transformation from fear to embracing to owning the sales process!

Katie Bennett- Double Black Diamond Coaching
Must-do: What separates my clients that get good results from my clients who get great results is commitment.  100% or 0%. There is no wiggle room on true commitment.
Love-to-do: The best part of my job is getting to help people achieve the lives and businesses they have always dreamed of.

Shauna Causey- Voluntweetup
Must-do: Test your limits on how generous you can be.
Love-to-do: The best part of my job is that I get to talk about dynamic ideas, inspiring people and worthwhile causes.

Maria Ross- Red Slice
Must-do: Make sure you know who your audience is! Get as close to defining your “ideal” customer vs. just your “average” customer.
Love-to-do: Seeing the light go off when they discover what their brand is really all about or who really is their ideal customer.

Andrea Baxter- Bratface Marketing
Must-do: There is nothing more beneficial to business women in a small city than to get out there, make yourself aware, and make a name for yourself.
Love-to-do: I would be lying if I didn’t say the freedom it allows me to have my own business.

CRAVE Book Featured on the Small Screen

Friday, May 7th, 2010

Click on picture to view video

Just in time for Mother’s Day, our CRAVE guides were featured on Twin Cities Live as the perfect gift for stylish moms everywhere! Watch the clip here and see our lovely books take center-stage!

It’s Fiesta Time!

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

Cinco de Mayo is a fun day dedicated to spicy foods, barbecuing in the fresh spring weather, and sipping a cocktail while relaxing to upbeat Latin music. Partake in or create Cinco de Mayo activities you CRAVE this year. Gather your girlfriends and samba your way into spring!

If you are in the mood to stay in and avoid Cinco de Mayo craziness, a perfect way to loosen up and still enjoy this festive holiday is to stay in and host your own fiesta! Do your girls CRAVE spicy and authentic Mexican food? Invite everyone over to cook their favorite dish and swap recipes. Meanwhile, sip on fresh home-made margaritas while watching your favorite Selma Hayek films. For a fun activity kids of any age can enjoy, pick up a piñata and see who can collect the most candy.

Getting dolled up and putting on your most festive dress and heels may be the way you want to honor this colorful holiday. Put on that new red lipstick you’ve been dying to use, gather all the girls and jump into a salsa class. Learning this spicy dance together will not only be fun, but you might discover a new favorite way to work out! After the lesson, go to that Mexican restaurant that you can’t get enough of and dance the night away to the live mariachi band.

Whether it be going out to hot spots or mellowing out at home, celebrate however makes you happiest. As you prepare for the night’s festivities, try this enticing, spicy cocktail to liven up your night. Not for the timid taste buds!

SMITTEN
makes 1 cocktail

1/3 cup fresh ripe watermelon, cut in 1-inch cubes
2 oz Sauza Hornitos Plata Tequila
3/4 oz Monin Organic Agave Syrup
3/4 oz fresh lime juice
2 dashes Tapatio hot sauce
Garnish: half-rim, single “scallop” of kosher salt

Muddle/press watermelon in pint glass with a muddler, being sure to press the melon well to release juices. Measure in tequila, agave syrup and lime juice. Shake in hot sauce—do not over-do it! Fill glass with ice. Cap and shake vigoroulsy. Strain into a martini glass with a partial salt rim.

Find more creative concoctions from Chef Kathy Casey here.

Bond with these Activites on Mother’s Day

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

It’s that time of year – it’s all about mom. You know as well as we do – with a hectic lifestyle, sometimes traditional alternatives have to do the trick (isn’t it the thought that counts?). But with all that mom has done for you, we’re guessing you probably CRAVE some creative mother/daughter bonding activities this Mother’s Day. So take a break from the craziness of the day to bond with the number one woman in your life. Whether you’re a “like- mother-like-daughter duo” or have completely different tastes, you’re sure to find a fabulous way to celebrate your mom in style with our irresistible options! Get ready to make some memories!

Rediscover Family Recipes
What better way to celebrate the women in your family than with a day dedicated to the culinary queens that have graced your family over the years? We all have recipes stashed away in a drawer in the kitchen that we always talk about with family members during holiday time. How many times have you reminisced about Grandma Marie’s outrageous chicken Marsala or Aunt Susan’s legendary lemon meringue? It’s time to pull out those recipes and cook them up with mom! Be sure to recopy those recipes that are written on paper that is little worse for wear, organize them and swap memories as you savor your hard work. So, if CRAVE something spicy or sweet and want to share special memories of the wonderful women that have paved your way, get cooking with mom. Who knows, you might even make some mother-daughter recipes of your own!

Other ideas for the the crafty mother-daughter duo:

- Organize family photos in scrapbooks or photo albums.
- Transfer old family tapes to DVD.
- Take an art class together.

Mother-Daughter Massage
What better way to say goodbye to stress and pamper the number one woman in your life than with a mother-daughter massage and spa treatment? Sometimes, the unspoken shared moments in life mean the most. With a little time to meditate, make muscles melt and mend your bodies, you and mom will be bonding in no time. Take some time together to choose your lineup of indulgences for the day. Whether you and mom CRAVE some hot stone therapy, aromatherapy or holistic skin care, your Mother’s Day Spa date is sure to be one to remember!

Other options for mothers and daughters looking to chill:

- Take a yoga class together.
- Safely score some rays of sunshine at the beach.
- Pack a picnic lunch and your suits. Find the perfect place to swim, enjoy the water and indulge in some homemade picnic classics!

Generational Clothing Swap:
Admit it – you have always wanted to raid mom’s closet (maybe you already have!) for some of those classy vintage outfits she has saved over the years. She’s probably had her eye on some of yours! Now is your chance to share style secrets that span a few more decades. Spend the days discussing style and sharing trends that have come in and out of both your lives. You might find some similarities you would never suspect – styles always seem to come back! After you swap chic secrets, you might even want to have a generational fashion show. Whatever decade you and mom each CRAVE when it comes to style, the creative possibilities are endless when you put your heads together in the name of fashion!

Alternatives for moms and daughters with fashion in their blood:

- Get out there for some retail therapy, but here’s the catch – pick outfits for each other. You could be pleasantly surprised, or you might be laughing the entire time you’re in the dressing room!
- Score mother-daughter style makeover consultations.
- Go on a fashionable date – check CRAVE and other local listings for fashion shows and other styling events in your city.

No matter what you CRAVE and how you choose to celebrate mom, enjoy your time together. Happy Mother’s Day from all of us at CRAVE.

CRAVE up your St. Patrick’s Day

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

St. Patrick’s Day is tomorrow and whether you are of Irish heritage or not, it is a great excuse to dress up in green, drink Guinness and eat corned beef and cabbage. In case the traditional Irish feast isn’t your thing we have come up with a few cool ways that you can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with your girlfriends. So grab your green, your “Kiss Me I’m Irish” sticker and a few gal pals and celebrate with us! Erin Go Bragh!

Coordinate a cocktail party with you gal pals using this fabulous party guide from Girlfriend Celebrations. Get cocktail creative with green drinks that aren’t beer. Pair these with fabulous green snacks and appetizers. Finish off the Irish ambiance by playing Celtic music in the background. As a fun party activity everyone can plant individual clovers and each guest can take home a pot to remind them of their fabulous friends.

Not into food and games? Coordinate a gift exchange with girlfriends and require that everyone purchase something that is authentically Irish. Set a spending limit so everyone gets something fun.

This year the holiday is celebrated on a Wednesday so if you aren’t in to going out and partying hard consider spending a night in watching movies. Use food coloring to dye your popcorn green and pop in a Irish “chick-flick” like PS I Love You, Tristan and Isolde , or Leap Year. All St. Patrick’s Day rules still apply so make sure your PJ’s are green!

If you want to go all out and spend the night on the town check out this fabulous St. Patrick’s Day event guide and find out what fun St. Patty’s festivities are happening in your area.

We wish you the “luck o’ the Irish” this year as you celebrate with friends. And no matter where or how you celebrate remember the old Irish adage “Before you call for one for the road be sure you know the road.” Slàinte

The Best Movies to Watch with Your Girlfriends

Monday, March 1st, 2010

What would we do without our girlfriends? They keep us sane when things get crazy, offer a shoulder to cry on when things get tough, encourage us to buy those shoes we just can’t live without, pig out on junk food with us after a bad breakup, and always, always make us laugh. One of our favorite things to do with our best gal pals is to pile onto the couch with plenty of buttered popcorn and indulge in a chick-flick movie-fest. Check out our picks for the movies to watch with your best girlfriends and start planning your next girl’s night in!

Beaches
Grab your tissues for this one. Its a tear-jerker but its also the story of a friendship that lasts a lifetime – CC and Hilary were totally BFF.

Thelma and Louise
Two best friends on a wild adventure, together until the end, and Brad Pitt? Sign us up!

Steel Magnolias
This one is another sob-story, but we love the story of this group of women who are there for each other through all of life’s ups and downs.

Bridget Jones’ Diary
Because Bridget’s kooky antics make us laugh every time and remind us everyone does silly things from time to time.

Fried Green Tomatoes
A testament to the strength of a woman and what she’ll do for her friends.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Because we all love Audrey Hepburn and we all have a little bit of Miss Holly Golightly in us.

Grease
A true guilty pleasure that we love to sing along to with our girls – a definite pick-me-up.

Sixteen Candles
Because we swoon over Jake Ryan and every girl’s high-school fantasy come true, every time we see it.

Dirty Dancing
Another guilty pleasure and classic that we know by heart and can watch with our girlfriends, time and time again.

Mean Girls
It may not be might not be your typical girl-power, female bonding kind of movie, but we all learn a lesson in the end – to support the women in our lives. Plus, its hilarious.

We could go on and on, but we’ll stop here and let you start planning which flicks to view at your next girl’s night. Hooray for girlfriends!

11 Ways To Be Single on Valentine’s Day

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Single, taken, or “it’s complicated”… regardless of your relationship status, Valentine’s Day can frankly be very obnoxious. If you’re with someone, you’re pressured to partake in extravagant displays of lovey-dovey cuteitude against your will. If you’re single, it’s even worse. You’re brutally reminded that those millions of cheesy greeting cards with kissing puppies on the front simply aren’t meant for you. Of course Valentine’s Day isn’t all bad, but it can be tough to go solo on a day when the rest of the world seems madly in love. In an effort to give single gals out there some solace, here’s a smattering of ideas from women (and two men) on what to do on February 14th if you’re single.

  • Get all your single girlfriends together for a fun-filled night of vino and good music… that’s what I’d do. Oh and shopping too (hell make an entire day of it)! -Phaedra, Taken, Los Angles [A Very CRAVE V-Day]
  • Two words: Southern. Comfort. Now you have advice from lady AND gentleman – Corbin, Taken, Washington DC [Best "Drink Your Sorrows Away" V-Day]
  • Celebrate the Chinese New Year! -Jocelyn, Single, Woodinvile [Best V-Day Replacement Holiday]
  • I heard the trick is to not make Valentine’s Day about loving a person you are in a relationship with, but to make it about loving all the people you love. If it isn’t about one person than it can be less disappointing when you spread out the love! – Courtney, Single, Santa Clara [Sweetest V-Day Idea]
  • Remember that it’s easier to be single on Valentine’s Day than stuck in a relationship that’s going nowhere fast. -Mike, Divorced, London [Best V-Day Reality Check]
  • This might be an LA only thing…but going to Disneyland with friends is awesome, as is going to Amoeba Records by yourself. – Natasha, Single, Los Angeles [Most LA V-Day]
  • Offer to babysit for your friends with kids! -Deborah, Taken, Woodinville [Most Charitable V-Day Idea]
  • I loved my single Valentines the best! Having a dinner party (with yummy cocktails) is fun with your single friends, or taking a little trip somewhere- the ocean, a cabin, a movie- with a few friends is wonderful! Just celebrating the people you love is what it’s all about! – Carly, Taken, Camano Island [Best Girlfriends V-Day]
  • If I were single on VDAY I’d go to Vegas for sure. But that’s just me… – Ashley, Taken, Los Angeles [Best V-Day for Ladies on the Prowl]
  • It’s two weeks away…. whose to say you will be single? Also… I hear having a bonfire is great fun… and if things go awry, a fireman comes over to visit – Adrienne, Single, Santa Fe [Hottest V-Day Idea]
  • Valentine’s Day is just another day…I would go to brunch and buy yourself some flowers. – Jess, Taken, San Diego [Best "Celebrate Yourself" V-Day Idea]

So there you have it. Booze, babysitting, brunch or bonfires – whatever you do, you definitely do not need a beau to enjoy your Valentine’s Day this year. Have fun!