Kelly Buckley of The WordSlingers Publishes New Book "Just One Little Thing"

Kelly Buckley, owner and founder of The WordSlingers, recently published her latest work of non-fiction - Just One Little Thing.  It chronicles the first year of her life without her oldest son, Stephen.  And as she did in her first book - Gratitude in Grief - Kelly shows how choosing gratitude as the aloe to mend her broken heart after the sudden and unexpected death of Stephen three years ago is the decision that changed her outlook on her loss.  She never denies the pain of her loss but does contend that grief can be ameliorated by choosing a life of gratitude. 

In addition to the book - Just One Little Thing - Kelly started a facebook group of the same name which now has almost 10,000 followers from 20 different countries. It's mission - to build a "global community of Resilience and Gratitude."

Kelly's amazing story of resiliency which culminated in her two books was recently highlighted by The Charlotte Observer. 

As her partner and friend, please join me in congratulating Kelly on her incredible resiliency and her accomplishments.     

For more information about Kelly Buckley, the author, visit her website at kellybuckley.com.   Just One Little Thing and Gratitude in Grief are both available on Amazon.com.

Company Values are Important for Small Businesses, All Businesses in Fact

I recently started receiving Fortune magazine on a trial basis and although many of the articles are a bit too "wonky" for the creative side of this writer, there are some useful tidbits for small business owners.  And of course for those who love numbers, the way I love words, there is much more than that in this magazine. 

In the April 30th edition, Jack and Suzy Welch's column focused on the importance of a company's culture.  I wanted to share a few key quotes from it with you.  Before you groan while thinking "this sounds like the touchy/feely stuff" that has no material impact on my business, listen to what this very successful couple had to say on the topic. 

"Soft culture matters as much as hard numbers."

"An organization's culture is not about words at all.  It's about behavior - and consequences."

"It's about every single individual who manages people knowing that his or her key role is that of chief values officer."

"Employees either don't know their organization's values, or they know that practicing them is optional.  Either way the result is vulnerability to attack from inside and out."

"Look, it's Management 101 to say that the best competitive weapon a company can possess is a strong culture."

All this is to say that your company needs to stand for something and you must be able to communicate that something to everyone within your company so that they understand it and buy into it so that everyone you do business with FEELS that something with every interaction.  And if you've got people who don't buy into your something, then maybe they aren't right for your company. 

Values, culture, that something, whatever you call it - I believe it is indeed just as important as the hard numbers as Jack and Suzy Welch maintain. 

Charlotte Celebrates Small Business Month

Yesterday at an event kickoff, Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx and the Charlotte City Council officially declared May as Small Business Month in Charlotte.  As a small business ourselves, The WordSlingers is excited to see more attention brought to this vital segment of the economy. 

In conjuction with Small Business Month, the city, county and Charlotte Chamber of Commerce debuted their new small business resource portal - CharlotteBusinessResources.com.  The site is intended to foster, encourage and recognize the importance of small businesses on Charlotte's economy. 

Current and aspiring small business owners can find a wealth of resources on this new site including how to start, grow, relocate and finance your small business idea. 

Additional events are planned throughout the month of May.  Next week alone features forums on Business Start Up (5/7), Social Media Makeover (5/8) and Building Your Brand and Making a Pitch (5/9).  See the Calendar of events on CharlotteBusinessResources.com for more details. 

The WordSlingers is a small business dedicated to providing professional writing and communication services to other small businesses, as well as to medium and large sized companies in the Charlotte market and beyond.  As part of our mission, our blog is dedicated to sharing valuable resources with our audience, such as this new small business portal. 

The WordSlingers at Work

We've been silent on this blog for far too long but we've had an excellent excuse. We've been busy, busy, busy writing. Writing for software companies, fuel oil companies, universities, distribution companies, consulting firms, financial institutions, and more.

In case you are wondering exactly what types of projects The WordSlingers can tackle - here's a sampling of our recent work:

• In depth feature stories for a software company's customer newsletter


• An employee newsletter from the Chief Risk Officer of a financial institution


• Resume and bio upgrades for a consulting firm's personnel


• Creating fresh, SEO-rich web content for a fuel oil company's existing website


• Edit and expand the Flex Time and Remote Work Policy for a university endowment office


• Create friendly and helpful customer letters for a financial institution


• Edit the advertising copy for a bio ad for a financial institution


• Create fresh and personalized web content for a coach's new website


• Develop sales and marketing material for a warehouse and fulfillment company

The WordSlingers promise to blog more frequently with helpful communication tips and stories.

For more information, visit us at www.TheWordSlingers.com.

Open to Hope: Inspirational Stories of Healing After Loss Released

A few months back, I was approached to be a contributor to a new book called Open to Hope: Inspirational Stories of Healing After Loss. I was both pleased and humbled to be asked and naturally, I jumped at the opportunity.

The book's authors, Dr. Gloria Horsley, PhD, MFC, RN, and Dr. Heidi Horsley, PsyD, LMSW, are internationally recognized grief experts. The mother/daughter team founded the Open to Hope Foundation and are hosts of the popular “Open to Hope” Internet radio show.

Since experiencing my own loss, I have searched for grief support that presented the grieving process with a focus on hope for the possibility of a happy future. I found that in the wonderful resources created by Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi.

So, drum roll please. I'm so pleased to announce the release of the book,

Open to Hope: Inspirational Stories of Healing After Loss

The book offers a path for hope after loss, with expert guidance. It includes stories and validation from close to 100 other national experts in the area of grief and loss. The amazing Dr. Bernie Siegel said this about the book,

"This book is about more than finding hope. It is about the natives teaching the tourists how to survive the pain of the loss of a loved one. Loss is inevitable, but what we do with it is a choice we must each make. If you want to recover and turn the charcoal into a diamond by using the pressure you are experiencing, read on."

Bernie Siegel, M.D.Author of 365 Prescriptions for the Soul;Love, Medicine & Miracles; and Buddy's Candle

The book is available at local and national bookstores, as well as all online booksellers such as amazon.com, or directly through www.opentohope.com/book. For more information about the book or the Open to Hope Foundation, visit http://www.opentohope.com/ .
I am excited to be part of this, and have part of my own story within the pages. I hope it will serve as a light in dark times for many who read it. As Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi so eloquently put it,

Lean on our hope until you find your own.

Take some time to check it out!

Kelly

Watch What You Say

As a freelance writer, my ear is always finely attuned to what other people say and how they say it. After all, half the battle of satisfying my business clients is listening to what they have to say in order to figure out how best to articulate their message in customer or employee facing collateral. That's why Charlotte Observer writer Mark Washburn's recent article, Feeling Juniored? The Word Pope Knows Why, caught my attention and gave me a good chuckle.

Having spent many years in corporate American, I'm well aware of how buzz words catch on. The next thing you know, you can't attend a meeting without everyone vying for a chance to use the buzz word to emphasize their knowledge or hipness. That always struck me as somewhat counter intuitive. For one, a simple word doesn't prove anyone's knowledge of a subject and two by the time a buzz word becomes omnnipresent it's no longer hip.

My personal advice, avoid most of those buzz words and speak about what you know best in the words that fit your business style, not the latest trend.

Kelly Buckley of The WordSlingers Honored for her Inspirational Book, Gratitude in Grief

Congratulations to my business partner, Kelly Buckley, for being honored as an Award Winning Finalist in the International Book Awards for her book Gratitude in Grief, Finding Daily Joy and a Life of Purpose Following the Death of My Son (ISBN# 978-1-4490-6379-5).

For almost two years now, I have been awed and amazed at how Kelly has handled a tragedy that would bring most people to a dead stop. Instead, Kelly has picked up the pieces of her life and continues every day to honor the memory of her beloved son, Stephen, and to create a joy-filled life for his brother, and her youngest child, Brendan.

She is an inspiration to me and everyone she meets as a constant reminder to live life to the fullest, be thankful for every day and not to sweat the small stuff.

To find out more about Kelly and her book, visit http://www.gratitudeingrief.com/ or you can join in on her conversation on life, purpose and faith on her Facebook page or follow her on Twitter. Gratitude in Grief is also available at Amazon.com.