I wrote this one year ago on Father’s Day – it made me happy, and it reminds me of how much I miss my Dad. I post this again for myself, in honor of my Dad.

Today is  Father’s Day and I think about my Dad and miss the good ol’ days when he was a few miles or a phone call away.  I was blessed with a Mom who to this day was the greatest woman I ever knew, and a Dad who exemplified human love and compassion, and a pure love of life better than anyone I know.

Today is a day when I remember the countless weekends spent at Northridge Junior High where my Dad would open up the gym and let my brothers, sister and me play on the trampoline, rings, and other gymnastics equipment. My dad worked as a teacher of Physical Education and Math for more than 40 years. He was an amazing athlete, as well as an amazing teacher.

I remember countless afternoons in our front yard when every neighborhood kid came over to learn to walk on their hands, do cartwheels, summersaults, flips, and so much more. Our backyard had a commercial grade swing set, Jungle-Jim, slide, and dough-boy pool. It was a kid’s paradise for those of us who loved to play outdoors. My Dad loved playing with us, and he loved teaching the neighborhood kids basic gymnastics. My Mom loved to tell the story about a few of the neighborhood kids who knocked at our door, and asked if Mr. Carrico could come out and play. He was the biggest kid on the block, and the most popular!

My Mom passed away four years prior to my Dad, and I had the privilege of getting to know my Dad better than anyone as he grew from 82 to 86 years of age. He was a World  War II hero, fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, getting shot, missing in action, and having his life saved by a very good German surgeon. He never bragged about his life in the Army, but he did earn a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. I am very proud to be his daughter.

Thirty days before my Dad died he was with “the guys” at the senior center, dancing on Friday night, with a line of ladies 4 times that of the men just waiting their turn. He was as good a dancer as Fred Astaire, and at 86 he was still moving faster than anyone on the floor.

My Father spent his last 5 days in my living room in a hospital bed, and as difficult as it was knowing he was going to die, I felt pure joy at the fact that it would be with me, that I would be there to hold his hand, and tell him not to be afraid. He had always been there for me, and it was an honor to be there for him. I miss him, I love him, and I believe he is reunited with my Mom, and both are with God. Happy Father’s Day Dad!

I spent the entire morning at Billinghurst Middle School as one of their guests for career day. I had 5 sessions with about 30-40 teens in each session who interacted with me on choices, leading up to what matters now, and through high school, that could lead to a career path as an entrepreneur.

Billinghurst Middle School - Career Day with Amazing Teens

Today was absolutely an exchange of learning, as are most activities that involve people. My attitude going into this environment was positive, and I was excited at the idea of spending time with teenagers. There is something about young people that I find thrilling, fun and memorable. My highest respect goes out to the administrators and teachers at Billinghurst, but most of all, to the students.

Bighorn Stickers to all Guests, Gotta Love It!

These young people displayed an impressive level of mutual respect towards me and to each other. They were great listeners, and they enthusiastically contributed to the classroom discussion. They were creative in drawing their visions, answering questions and providing scenarios.

It is virtually impossible to present a complete understanding of what it takes to become an entrepreneur in 30 minutes, especially to teens who still have their high-school years ahead of them. So what we did focus on were “choices” as I passionately repeated in each class, “everything matters…every choice you make matters!”

I started each session asking the teens what position in life they see 20-year-olds in – not just people they know, but those in society. I led them to understand that 20-year-olds range from military positions, college students, workers, entrepreneurs, house-wives/husbands, homeless people, and even prisoners. The challenge was to make them understand that no one chooses to be homeless, nor do people choose to go to prison – people end up in these situations largely due to poor choices. So, every choice they make matters! Each teen has a baseline of “smart” – my loud message to them was that every day they need to make choices to get smarter…they heard me loud and clear, and without exception, they agreed it was important to be smarter each day…and that in itself is a choice!

It’s tough to love every day of school, and every subject. What helps the learning process for teens is getting them to understand the relevancy of school subjects to their future jobs, careers, life! We talked about math – I told them that in business, math = money, and money matters – it’s part of every business, and everything in life has an aspect of business.  Math = Money! Learn it, use it, and know that the better your math skills become, the smarter you can run a business.

Naturally writing and reading are big on this list as well. Many of the kids said they hated to read. My response to that was you will become a better reader the more you do it – find an author, a book series, a blog – the Internet has virtually millions of things to read – do it, and then you may find yourself wanting to write as well. No one can survive as an entrepreneur who doesn’t read and write daily.

I am just one person who wants to see teens care about learning. I want to see them believe that as individuals they have value, and believing in themselves allows them to make good choices in learning, living and growing. It doesn’t matter what is taught in a classroom if there are no listeners. Once teens choose to learn, and understand the value of education, they can grow closer to their potential. We as adults need to care, we need to get involved, and when we get a chance to hang out with these awesome teenagers, we need to choose YES, they are worth it. It was my honor to participate in career day at Billinghurst Middle School today. I hope they ask me back.

I’ve been off the blogging zone since October. I spent quite a bit of time establishing and building the structure – the blog website – and when it reached a “point of temporary completion” I posted about a dozen blogs…and then dropped off.

I’m like most with great intentions, to create a transparent presence with a vision to provide value in my area of expertise. But like most people, I got busier – I got tired – I pushed this task aside and excused myself. So, what did all this do for me?

I keep myself intimate with business training, professional development, and technology updates as they apply to me, the “non-techy” professional. Going off the grid has proven one thing only – I have missed out on opportunity, information, connections and remarkability as only I can individually accomplish.

My saving grace is my position as a training director.  As the founder of our NNCC/NSBDC monthly BizFlash program, I have the luxury of a selection process of topics and speakers that apply to the needs of our business community. This morning’s BizFlash featured top-notch speaker Bret Simmons, an accomplished blogger and professor of organizational behavior and social media practices at the University of Nevada, Reno.

A couple of years ago, it was Dr. Simmons who convinced me, and a couple hundred other attendees, the concept, practice and belief that personal branding is only going to become more present in our business environments. This morning’s presentation REMINDED me that those who commit to a social presence via the Internet do so because they believe in themselves, and their talents/expertise to be of value. Additionally, his message is current, relative and powerful. But…and you know these are multiple…it takes commitment, focus and a “remarkable” discipline.

Just last week I was on the phone with one of our training instructors – I asked her why she didn’t have a website, and why she didn’t blog, while also discussing the subject of Social Media as a critical topic to our existing and future entrepreneurs. She said, “KC, I tell my students that they should only be doing social media if they can be consistent.” I also asked her why she didn’t blog. Her response was, “I don’t like to write.”

I actually bought into these responses until this morning, when Bret Simmons reminded us of a quote from famous blogger Gary Vaynerchuk: “Social Media doesn’t work for two reasons only: 1. your product or service isn’t any good, and/or 2. You’re doing it wrong. Bret’s bottom line is that people are talking about you, and you have earned everything they say. Are you positioned to respond?

Bret presented the various forms of blogging – audio, video, written, photographical, and formal presentations like a powerful PowerPoint. From his own site, he displays the effective combination of all of them and mixes up his blog site – truly powerful when you blog daily like Bret.

I cannot blame or judge why people do or don’t do whatever – but when it comes to a powerful tool like a blog, I can only wonder why some take it to the limits and others keep on telling me why they don’t utilize it. Perhaps a vision of self-remarkability is in order.

The bottom line – become an expert if you aren’t already – believe that you have value – share that value and invite people into your conversations – become social in this world of constant information – at the VERY LEAST you will end up with years of journaling your words, your wisdom, your comments and your contributions if nothing else before your leave this world!

Just over a decade ago, Rod Jorgensen began teaching our 13-week NxLeveL for Entrepreneurs course by telling the business-owner attendees to carry a Yellow Pad wherever they went. He elaborated on the importance of capturing every idea onto paper. Writing down new ideas does several things:

1. It clears your head and makes room for more ideas
2. It captures a thought or idea that may very well become a starting or stepping stone to something great
3. It sparks action into play

I carry one of those bible-size Franklin planners wherever I go. My personal motto behind my madness, “if it’s written, it gets done.” People tease me, and I laugh with them, but I sleep better at night because the things I need to remember and some of my new ideas are written down.

Scott Armstrong, GOT DIBBS?

In Scott’s presentation, he bounced back and forth about the company, the new technology, social media, and his joys and pains of living his life as an entrepreneur. He is one of the most decent people I’ve ever listened to.  His advice was as real as he was. Among the expert advice Scott shared was his strong recommendation to write things down and to carry a pad of paper everywhere you go! He told us Dibbs began as an idea, and this new technology is a fine example of what could have been lost had it not been scribbled down with on-going thoughts, ideas, and brain-storms. Scott went on to tell us about the huge white-board in his living room, and seeing the progression of daily thoughts was essential to move his ideas, and those of his team, forward.

Scott and his team have developed a technology that has more than 8,000 users in a short couple of months. Scott IS an entrepreneur in every sense of the word. Dibbs grows exponentially, and I believe that Scott, his amazing team of innovators and entrepreneurs, and Dibbs will become household names in the near future. And Scott will continue to carry his notepad with him.

Do you know of people who talk and complain that a new product hit the market, and that he/she thought of it first? Well, I’ve learned to ignore these people, because that’s all they do is talk – they don’t write it down, and they don’t follow up.

After you’ve written an idea down, ponder it and see if it goes anywhere. What have you got to lose? Nothing, but you will lose your ideas if you DON’T write them down! Take Rod and Scott’s advice – carry a Yellow Pad wherever you go, and write down your ideas – daily. This is truly a valuable step in becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Do you have an insatiable lust to learn? I know I do! By surrounding ourselves by people smarter, more experienced, and willing to share a wealth of knowledge we add to the value of ourselves, and our business. Why wouldn’t anyone want to attend a conference that showcases powerful tools and people that can help us grow our business? And in northern Nevada, the landscape and recreation are breathtaking year-round.

We learn in numerous ways and environments, but the bottom line is that we learn from the ideas, experiences and innovations of others.  You will frequently hear me tell an audience member who claims to be self-taught, “You are only as smart as your teacher.”

I want to learn from the best whenever possible. I want to have many platforms in which to learn. The Internet is the most practical, but when I can go to see and hear powerful people live on stage, and be invited to engage in a live conversation, that’s where I want to be! I am open to influence from those who have proven themselves as experts. This will make me smarter, and maybe I can influence others to work smarter on their business. I am thrilled to be registered to see Gary Vaynerchuk live at the Tahoe Tech Talk 2010 on September 30th , and the SM@RT (Social Media @ Reno-Tahoe) conference coming to Reno, NV December 8-10 at John Ascuaga’s Nugget.

Social media has evolved into an industry so large and powerful that universities across the globe offer post and undergraduate degrees in this field of study and practice. If you look at some of the highly successful practitioners of social media, you will find high-end entrepreneurs. These people, who got on board years ago with social media, saw the Internet as an unprecedented tool to grow their business.  My favorite entrepreneur who breathes in social media like we do air, hands down, is Gary Vaynerchuk. His latest 2-minute video blog provides a potent statement, “It’s not the platform, it’s always the message.” Gary embraces social media as always, but reminds us we cannot ignore or dismiss other platforms such as radio, television and print in marketing our business. In another of his countless video blogs Gary talks about his company’s evolution referencing a single thought after seeing someone else attempting to gain a larger market in the wine industry. Gary said to himself, “I can do that. The wine world needs an advocate. They need me. They need someone who won’t be a jerk about it.” And what did he do? He became the wine advocate, he reeks of customer service, he appeals to all wine consumers, he pulls from his personal strengths, he identifies the tools, he masters the use of his tools and he implements a plan where he and his business become the epitome of success. And he continues to influence the way we do business. I LOVE this guy!

Though we don’t have Gary Vaynerchuk, the SM@RT conference gathers a solid list of smart people who are using social media as a strategic management and marketing tool for their business. Why would anyone attend a social media conference? To continue the journey of learning, to connect with one another, and to come together and collectively make our platforms work effectively and our messages purposeful. Hope to see you in northern Nevada at one or both of these remarkable Social Media gatherings!

College and school kids are starting back to school this week. What a great time for business owners to get back into a learning environment too. Can’t make it to a live NxLeveL class? Then let’s blog about it for the next 13 weeks – please join in the conversations!

NxLeveL Topic One: ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Our first session outlines the definition of entrepreneurship and in-class discussion is always enlightening when we ask the question, “What’s the difference between an entrepreneur and a business owner?” There are countless answers to this question, but what I feel is evident is the fact that a true entrepreneur spends significant time planning and learning something new, whether it is directly or indirectly related to his/her business. Entrepreneurs are self-directed learners. Our NxLeveL text goes into some details of self-assessment and some very good “food for thought” concepts. Listed as what makes a good entrepreneur includes: Passion, Persistence, Good Health, High Energy, Creativity, Independence, Self-Reliance, Open Mind, Intuition and Self-Confidence.

They don’t kid you about the reality of the “dream” of owning your own business. Hard-core questions that must be asked and answered are critical to the self-assessment. Working 80-100+ hours each week is a reality; making little or no money the first 1-2 years is a reality; getting your family or significant relations on board with you for support must be pre-planned; loss of money is inevitable to launch a business. “Successful entrepreneurs may take calculated risks, but they are not gamblers; they seldom act until they have assessed the situation and done everything in their power to minimize risk.”

In week one, you are asked to take several assessments that include:
Personal Assessment
Business Assessment
Lifestyle Assessment

The bottom line with anyone starting a new venture is, you don’t know what you don’t know. If you’re thinking of starting a new business, or want to work more on your existing business, talk to someone who is ahead of you – learn from others, from books, from classes and don’t do this alone!

For further assistance with business building please learn more about the Nevada Small Business Development Center, a department within the College of Business at the University of Nevada, Reno. It’s a great place to get some solid help that includes free and confidential one-on-one business advisement. Or contact me because I’ve worked 15 years at this amazing agency and pride myself in connecting people to resources.

Tune in next week for topic two – PLANNING & RESEARCH: Entrepreneurial Essentials

Want some more info on Nevada NxLeveL? Please read on.

NxLeveL for Entrepreneurs begins in five Nevada cities soon. The biggest challenge for people to get on board with this popular and successful business education is time. NxLeveL puts people into a classroom environment for 13 weeks, 3 hours at a time to cover 12 critical topics for small business success.

Most people want this education, but the timing may not be right. With respect to all of you my intention of writing weekly on NxLeveL is to outline the topics and provide some learning that may be useful in your business and in your assessment if this class is something you wish to pursue down the road. All quotes are taken directly from the fourth and fifth editions of NxLeveL® Guide for Entrepreneurs, copyright NxLeveL® Education Foundation, with permission.

Nevada has more than a dozen certified instructors, and those who commonly use social media in their business are on board to add to the content and conversations of our NxLeveL for Entrepreneur Training Network. This platform is also a tool for NxLeveL attendees who can learn from other business owners from all over Nevada. Join us today to learn, teach, share and inspire our incredible force of Nevada Entrepreneurs. There has never been a better time than now to collaborate and help our State’s economic recovery by supporting our small businesses through applied education, networking, and patronage.

Why Should You Consider Enrolling into a NxLeveL® for Entrepreneurs Course? Because…

It is the best training for business owners in the country.
It is a course that has been taken by more than 1,800 Nevadans.
It is completely applied learning and non-academic.
It is a course in which each Nevada entrepreneur who has graduated from says they wish they took it before they started their business.
It is hands-on learning that provides an environment for entrepreneurs to work on their business.
It is a program that provides a safe, confidential and passionate atmosphere for people who want to be smarter in their business.
It is a training curriculum used in more than forty states.
It is the cornerstone training program of the NV Small Business Development Center since 1999.
It is a course for existing business owners and new business owners.
It is a curriculum that provides an outstanding text written by 20 primary entrepreneur-authors from around the country with over 200 contributing entrepreneur-authors.
It is education for business owners who want to become more entrepreneurial.

I had the privilege of spending two days and nights in Carlin last week to attend a workshop hosted by the Nevada Commission on Economic Development. I feel strongly that when I travel I spend my travel dollars in the towns in which I’m doing business or visiting rather than going for the more populated areas.

CDGB Workshop at Carlin Senior Center, NCED's Des Craig Presenting

Elko is an additional 23 miles east of Carlin with more choices of lodging, entertainment and restaurants. However, to stay true to my values I booked my stay locally, ate locally and met some amazing local people.

The workshop I attended was all about the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding processes important to all of us who apply for these funds. The grants provide assistance in areas of economic development to various rural Nevada locations. I applaud the NCED, and Des Craig in particular, for choosing Carlin for the workshop site because it is through our travel that we learn more about our fellow Nevadans and the history behind their home towns.

Nine-acre Park in Carlin, NV Provides Lots of Recreation

Our workshop was held at the Carlin Senior Citizen’s Center, which by the way, was beautifully built through an approved CDBG grant several years ago. In a future post I will tell you about a couple of the amazing seniors who work there and make life better for many of the residents. I also may go into some details of the town’s famous Ghost Cries Murder story.  But for now, this post is to thank the people of Carlin who took their time to take the workshop attendees on a tour. Their 9-acre park is beautiful and houses ball fields, a skate park, an equestrian park, a nature study area, motor cross track, archery range and more.  Backpacking, fishing, hunting and camping are highlights of Carlin as well.

What made the tour additionally valuable was our tour guide, Darcy. She has tremendous pride in her community and is without a doubt one of the nicest and most knowledgeable people in town. Many thanks go out to the folks of Carlin for the warm welcome, home-made cookies and great hospitality.

A lot of work goes into putting on the Star Spangled Sparks Event hosted annually by the Sparks Chamber of Commerce. It’s one of those events that attracts everyone because there are activities geared for, well, everyone. Many thanks to the chamber staff and committee for hours of preparation and planning, and working on a holiday that begins at 5:30 AM to make it all happen. And to each sponsor, you make a difference in our community – thank you!

Model Dairy annually sponsors Star Spangled Sparks

People like to get out on this national holiday that honors our country and our freedom.  It’s a time when red, white and blue are proudly worn and waved. It’s about good times, good food, and good entertainment. What makes this event more special than most is the local talent who compete for first place in the Sparks Got Talent contest.  I didn’t have time to stay for the entire contest, but what I saw was most inspiring and entertaining.

Great music from local talent

It takes a special leap to put yourself onto a stage in front of hundreds of people. This year’s contestants were a beautiful sampling of our community with people of all ages and talents.

this young Cowboy Poet wowed the audience

There was poetry, dancing, singing, magic and comedy. To each of you, I know I speak for many of the audience – a huge thank you for sharing your special talents with us today, on the 4^th of July 2010! God bless you and our great country!

The state of Nevada has one of the highest high school drop-out rates in the nation.  This did not happen overnight so we cannot expect any immediate changes. But there are some causes worth pursuing, and certainly higher education for our youth is one I strongly believe in and will pursue in some capacity my entire life.

Campus Kids experiencing Legacy Hall at UNR

I am one of a couple thousand employees at the University of Nevada, Reno. It has been my business home for almost 20 years. Like any large institution, there are flaws, but I choose to keep my focus on the value of education.  UNR is a significant landmark in my community. I have always considered it a privilege to work here and my job is nothing short of a blessing. In my younger years I would never have imagined myself at the same job for more than 5 years, yet I love this place more and more each year despite the troubling economic times.

I believe that now is the time to spread passion about education – after all, a solid education is the foundation of a solid economy, wouldn’t you think? So how do we get our youth to realize this, and how do we get them to value education on their own?

I wrote a successful stimulus grant last year that brought close to 300 youths to our campus (40 per week) for a one-week experience of campus life, college students, clubs, play, writing, photography, a little entrepreneurship, and lunch daily on the Quad. This program had well-planned structure that allowed them to “do” what college students do. They toured Legacy Hall, Mackay Stadium, Engineering, the Knowledge Center, Planetarium, Center for Cultural Diversity and listened daily to a new college student’s 7-minute presentation about why they chose college, what they gave up, and what they expected to do in their world when they graduated.

These kids collectively took over 2,000 photographs, currently posted on www.unrcampuskids.org. They wrote daily into their journals about what they saw, who they met, what they learned, and how they felt about being on the campus of UNR. Each team of 10 created marketing posters for their lemonade sales, and collectively raised over $1,000 that funded a 200+ student “graduation” on the university’s famous Quad last summer.

Campus Kids was born last year, and our mottos include Knowledge is Power and Education Beats Vegetation.  These kids did not go into an academic environment because they already knew what that’s like. What they didn’t know they experienced as a Campus Kid at an age in which they can choose to learn, and learn to value education by bonding with our beautiful campus, its people and places.

Campus Kids group photo with 35 kids from Boys & Girls Club

Our program continues this summer, with literally zero dollars. With the passion of a few Boys & Girls Club directors and my personal love of showing kids my university, we have trimmed the program to a one-day field trip. But with full support from our College of Business Dean Greg Mosier and NSBDC Director Sam Males, I have the privilege of coordinating with other campus people to try our hardest to demonstrate a value of education. People on our campus care about our youth, and they care about our campus. We need to spread the value of education as often as possible, and to as many youth as possible. If you see us roaming on Tuesdays this summer please say hello and get yourself photographed as a Campus Kids fan!

I attended a workshop several weeks ago by a good friend and exceptional trainer, Meggin McIntosh. Meggin is one of those people that no matter what topic she chooses to present, everyone is going to walk away glad they came.

The workshop was titled something along the lines of How to Create a “not-to-do” List. This event title made me curious because I’m such a fan of creating “to-do” lists. The title, in more complicated terms, could have been “how to say no, what to say no to, and why you should say no when you want to say yes in your professional environment.”  I can appreciate Meggin’s creative topic title that got me to this workshop.

Great trainers typically have great books in which they recommend. Meggin’s plead with us to go out and purchase #1 New York Times Best Selling Author Tom Rath’s Strengths Finder 2.0 is proving to be a life saver for me. The book comes with a computer access code and test that allows you to really identify your strengths that are based on your innate talent – and not based at what you think you’re good at. The key is to start by honestly identifying your innate talent.

It reminds me of a recent situation when some colleagues actually thought I would be okay in developing my own, simple personal branding web site. The fact is, I get lost going home – I have no sense of direction. I also have no sense of technical instruction outside of using software applications that matter to me. I do have determination, I do know how to ask for help, but seriously, the only thing I could have constructed would have been at best mediocre, and probably dysfunctional. I don’t do “technical” – so why would I say yes to a technically challenging project?

I am very good at what I do because I have an innate talent to organize. I did not learn how to do this, at age 6 every square inch of MY living space was in order. At age 16 I was the only one in the family who could fit every suitcase into the trunk on our 3,000 mile vacation. I was born 3 weeks early, maybe that’s why punctuality is so important to me.

It’s not too late for any of us to honestly identify our innate talents and strengthen them. And it’s never too late to admit that no matter how hard we try, there are some talents in life better left to others to strengthen.