This is a short work week and many of us are dreaming of summer fun. Making some short term expectations for the summer season could mean that beside affording you and your staff some much needed R & R, you could reach September with some new ideas or skills. That brings a whole new meaning to the essay "How I spent my Summer Vacation".

Things to do that will make the summer memorable:

• Read a business book - we at Changing Lanes have lots of suggestions, but even taking one off your stack of "to-read-someday" would be a good start.
• Read a fiction book - maybe even one of your kids' books; could be the conversation starter you would enjoy.
• Listen to educational information - so many podcasts are free and on just about any topic. You can even learn a language.
• Change something in your lifestyle to become more healthy; suggest a challenge to your colleagues, co-workers or family.
• Attend a Conference and it doesn't have to be work related; it could be something totally different or maybe a hobby!

Now, to really make this happen,

1. Make a SMART goal,

2. Post it so you see it twice a day and

3. Have a celebration in September! Oh yes, sharing our goals often helps it happen!

Linda Lucas Fayerweather
www.ChangingLanes.biz  
419-897-0528
linda@changinglanes.biz   

The United States is celebrating Memorial Day today. This holiday celebrates those how went before us to secure our freedom. Thank you to each and every veteran has maintained our freedoms we so enjoy.

This day is often considered the unofficial start of the summer season, hurricane season and vacation season. For Changing Lanes LLC, it is marking the start of our new adventures. When I started this company, I never imagined it would be more than me and my virtual assistant, Judy Alexander. But after reading Built to Sell and maybe the fifth reading of E-Myth Revisited, it struck me that I wanted to build a business that was repeatable, profitable and sustainable but most important was able to thrive with or without me. I would need help and to Change my own Lanes to make my dream happen!  I know have partners!

Moving forward, we are going to be continue the same work we recommend business owners do: Create a business that is an asset on our balance sheet. With that said, I want to introduce Jeff Mendelshon and Tiffiny T. Fayerweather to you officially. I've known them both for over 10 years, they were co-workers with my son and now they are part of the next chapter of Changing Lanes LLC.

Many thanks to both of you!

I have been working as a professional since I was seventeen years old. My positions have ranged from receptionist at an insurance company to logistics coordinator for an international chemical company. Throughout my many years of experience I remember thinking to myself what I could do differently in order to make things run a little smoother for myself and others. One of the ways I started making my work life easier was making procedure manuals. I wrote down exactly step by step of how I did what I did. That way if I ever left for a vacation the person filling in for me would not mess up anything that I had worked so hard to maintain.

I currently attending college working towards an accounting degree. I have been doing extremely well thanks to the support and encouragement from my family. Going to school full-time while maintaining a healthy home life has been an ongoing challenge. This however has given me many more opportunities to manage multiple priorities successfully.

When I was approached with the idea of joining Changing Lanes, I was of course excited. I have known both Linda and Jeff for over ten years and admired both of their professionalism and entrepreneurial minds. The idea of being able to help companies turn themselves into a well-oiled machine makes me happy. I look forward to giving ideas and feedback while also learning more about how other companies solve problems.

Tiffiny Fayerweather

tiffiny.fayerweather@ChangingLanes.biz  

Editor note: Tiffiny is married to my son, Carl and they house two of my three grand kids! LLF

Today I want to share a few things about myself and why I have partnered with Changing Lanes, LLC. My name is Jeff Mendelsohn, by profession I am a web designer/developer but that doesn't describe what I truly do. What I really do is help businesses do what they do best. I create web sites, web applications and printed media so a business can market themselves better, share their knowledge, and get their message out there while providing service to their customers or running their business more efficiently. I love helping people achieve their dreams and become successful by creating and giving them tools while educating them on how to use those tools. That is what I do.

Back in 2001 I was introduced to Linda because I was friends with her son, Carl. On an off conversation, I expressed interest in starting my own business but didn't know where to start. By that time I had been doing personal web sites for about two years, I felt confident that I could create and update other people's websites. Carl told me to go see his mom, Linda. He said that she helps start-ups and does business coaching. So I did and in March of 2002 Linda helped me start my own business. From that moment on I've worked with her. She has become my friend, my business coach, my client, my mentor and now my business partner.

I joined Linda's business because she does the same thing I do. She helps businesses become successful through real world processes, education, and tools. She does this in a different way than I do, but at the end of the day the goal is the same. To help businesses do what they do better.

What Linda brings to the table is years of practical, real world business consulting and financial experience. What I bring is the expertise to translate that over to the Internet. A good business match if you ask me. But we were missing something or rather someone.

That someone was Tiffiny Fayerweather. She was my manager at one of my first jobs. But more importantly she has been my friend since 1998. Business wise, Tiffiny is unique. She has a knack for office management. Simply put she knows how to organize an office and create processes that will help make a business run smoothly. She bring the piece that sees a business from the employee side.

We aren't here to be just another business consulting firm. Our focus is on helping your business become an asset to you. Something that we call "Saleable". To us, a saleable business is a business that is running at peak performance. The business is self-sufficient and sustainable. It will run with or without you and still make you money. The term saleable comes in because it can be sold at any moment and you as a business owner will be able to get the most money for it. It doesn't mean you are going to sell your business. It just means that your business is running as efficiently as it can. It is a fantastic way of looking at a business. A way that we hope to share with you through everything that we do.

Today starts a new chapter for Changing Lanes. A chapter that I am lucky enough to share with Linda and Tiffiny. So to start off this new chapter, my question to you this week is, what can we do to help your business?

--
Jeff Mendelsohn
Liquid Mechanix Studio, LLC

www.liquidmechanix.com

419.297.3364