Words For Hire has gone fishing (metaphorically not physically) but will return tomorrow with the catch of the day. Got any fish tales of your own to share? Feel free to leave a comment!

by Karen D. Swim

Yes, you read the title right, I am an SOB, Liz Strauss said so! I was honored to be named by Liz as a Successful and Outstanding Blogger(SOB) last week.  How do you earn the right to call yourself a Successful Blog SOB? In Liz’s words:

"They take the conversation to their readers, contribute great ideas, challenge us, make us better, and make our businesses stronger."

However, this post is not an excuse to toot my own horn (c’mon you know me better than that, right?). This morning before I sat down to write, I read Joanna Young’s post on Gratitude.  It was the perfect complement to my thoughts today and for the month ahead.  Joanna writes:

"Gratitude shapes your language and your world.  Regular practice in writing with gratitude gets you writing about what’s good, but also what’s real.  It’s a powerful form of affirmation.  The more you write this kind of stuff the more it becomes what’s ‘normal’ to you; it influences your language and your beliefs.  It starts to shape and create your world."

I agree with Joanna. Life is never perfect, yet even in the midst of challenges we can walk in gratitude. Choosing to be thankful changes our perception. We are able to see beyond the problem or challenge to the potential and possibility.  Problems are only as big and consuming as we allow them to be.

The SOB honor is meaningful to me because at its essence it embraces gratitude and giving back. Liz Strauss is the blogger we all aspire to be.  She is one of the industry’s leading blog writers but she generously extends a hand to bring others to the top too.  Liz has a passionate commitment to create connections online and offline.  She not only talks it but definitely walks it. Thank you Liz for lighting the way and modeling excellence.

Liz’s nod is an affirmation of my own purpose and encourages me in my mission of creating connections. However, I could not do this without all of you dear readers.

I am so thankful for all of you taking time to participate in this community. I look forward to hearing from you and learning from you each day. You have made blogging a passion not a labor. I look forward to the second half of this year. It is my hope that our connections grow stronger and that we expand the circle of community. Again, I say thank you.

How important is community to you? What makes you feel part of a community?  Please share your thoughts in the comments.

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by Karen D. Swim

Are you looking for ways to alienate your customers? Do you want to achieve brand visibility by being the most reviled in your industry? Well if this is your goal, I have just the solution for you!

Yesterday, American Airlines announced that it would begin charging $15 for the first checked bag. This in essence means that there is no free luggage, at least not on American. However, kudos to them for being the first U.S. carrier to charge for all checked bags. Go American!

You too can be just like the airline industry. Listed below are 3 proven methods to drive away your customers.

1. Treat your employees badly. When employees are undervalued they will respond by handing your customers as gently as a sack of rotten garbage. Don’t worry if you are a solo practice with no employees, you can eliminate the middle man and offer rotten service directly.
2. Ignore a problem until it gets so big that you almost have to shut down your entire operations, causing a delay to every customer you are currently serving. This one method alone can not only drive away customers but crash your entire business.
3. Cut back on expected services, lay off staff and raise your prices. Now this method is absolutely priceless. I get chills just thinking about the repercussions.

Airlines have been so successful with these strategies that customers are all buzzing about how to avoid flying with them. Analytical customers are even questioning if the new policies are discriminatory.

The real beauty of their plan is that I suspect it has been in the making for years. Is it possible that these major businesses failed to make internal changes to sustain leadership and now conveniently blame their failure on the economy?

Do you have surefire tips for driving away customers? Share them in the comments!

Disclaimer: No customers or employees were harmed in the writing of this post. Please do not implement these tactics. This post is meant as a tongue in cheek lesson of what not to do. The author takes no responsibility if you choose to disregard this warning and try this at home.