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Allison Lancaster

Allison Lancaster

Online Business Management & Virtual Assistant Coaching

Shop Small (Business) Gift Guide 2019

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The holiday season is my FAVORITE time of the year! I’ve always loved Christmas, but the past 4 years have been very special to me: Levi (my oldest) was born 2 days after Christmas! I had so many people tell me: Oh gosh, having a child with a birthday around the holidays is SO MUCH WORK. But guess what? It just made this time of year even more special for me and Levi absolutely loves Christmas as much as his mama! One of my favorite ways to celebrate the holidays is by purchasing gifts for others from small businesses. This year’s Shop Small Gift Guide is just one of the ways I hope to support other small business owners as we wrap up 2019. If you have suggestions for what to add to the guide, I’d love for you to send them to me!

Please note: this guide contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission from these links to help support my family. Thank you for helping me support the businesses I love!

Shop Small (Business) Gift Guide 2019

The Non-Obvious Guide to Being More Creative: I absolutely LOVE this book (and the author). Kathryn is a client but also a friend of mine and this book is something that I think everyone should read!

Transform Your Stories: Overcome Your Toxic Stories, Become a Courageous and Confident Leader, and Impact the World: Another one of my favorite books of 2019! This book was written by a dear friend (and client), but this book is such a valuable tool for any person in a leadership position. I cannot recommend it enough!

Think.Eat.Live. Products: Many of you know that Levi has a really bad peanut allergy. Since finding this out, we’ve had to change how our family eats to protect him from severe reactions. When I began working with Caryn & Dan from Think.Eat.Live. and I heard their story – I knew immediately I had to try their products! We LOVE all of them – from the SunFlour to the brownie mix…each product they offer is full of nutrition but also delicious (and toddler approved!)

Style Made Simple: I LOVE this guide! When I had kids, I feel like I lost my sense of style a bit…but Erin’s style guide has helped me to get ‘my groove back’! Erin is one of the sweetest bloggers and women that I know, and she poured her heart and soul into this guide…it’s a must buy!

Grown & Flown: The Book: Even though my kids aren’t “Grown & Flown” yet, this book is special to me because I know and work with Mary Dell & Lisa (the authors). They were one of the first businesses to hire me and working with them the past few years has been a true joy. The community that they’ve cultivated to support parents is amazing and they never cease to amaze me with their kindness and willingness to give back!

Crate & Willow Gift Boxes: I absolutely LOVE this concept! I always struggle with client gifts, but Crate & Willow solves that problem with thoughtfully curated and original gift boxes (at amazing prices also!)

Prince Design: Heather has been a good friend of mine for awhile and I love all of her creations! I have several of them around my house, including her tea towels (pictured below). She also offers mini signs (which I LOVE!), note cards and more!!

The Painted Pearl: Courtney is one of my good friends and also a creative genius. I love her creations and they would make the perfect gift for anyone on your list!

The Elderberry Co.: We love elderberry in our house especially during cold & flu season. I stumbled upon The Elderberry Co. after attending the Business Boutique conference in Nashville and we’ve ordered from her a few times since then! The fact that both Levi & Rebecca can take her syrup AND that it’s made by a mama who is supporting her family is one of the reasons we love The Elderberry Co.!

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I was on a call yesterday with a client who said " I was on a call yesterday with a client who said "I am so glad that I have you in my corner for Pinterest...several SEO experts, including Brandon of RankIQ are saying how important it is to diversify traffic sources, now more than ever...and Pinterest is one they are talking about."⁠
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With all of these changes, I am NEVER the one to say "purchase my course, it'll fix it all" or "hire me, it will solve your problems"...that's just not me. I respect budgets (I'm a small business owner too, I get it)....and I don't want you to make any rash decisions.⁠
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That being said, I have had a large number of people DM me this week and email me asking about pricing for services/courses (I am assuming because of the above recommendations I am referring to) so I wanted to make it easy for you all to find the links. ⁠
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They are listed at the link in my bio...again, please don't make any rash purchasing decisions (from me or anyone else) BUT If you are ready to hire/purchase a course...I'd be honored to hear from you.⁠
😍Thank you SO much!! 😍Thank you SO much!!
Happy Monday!!⁠ I'm BACKK 🤣 After traveling f Happy Monday!!⁠
I'm BACKK 🤣 After traveling for the last couple of weeks, I am back in the office today and ready to hit the ground running. ⁠
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While I as away...as tends to happen🤣Google rolled out their latest update which I am sure you are aware of. ⁠
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I have seen a LOT of posts In various groups on this update so I won't recap It (if you have questions, let me know and I can point you to an article about it)....but I do have a few things to say based on what I've seen on the interwebs the last few days:⁠
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👉DON'T PANIC...I know, it's difficult. There are a lot of scary comments/posts that I've seen about huge traffic losses from this update, etc. If you have been hit, first I am so sorry- this is so frustrating. Secondly, don't panic. When we panic as humans, we tend to make rash decisions (i..e deleting 300 posts, hiring someone to 'fix it' for $10k, etc.<< all things I've seen happen before). Give it some time. No one knows what will happen, there is a ton of speculation BUT...give it time, don't panic and stay the course. You can absolutely adjust things over time to meet the new best practices but panicking and just throwing everything out you've been doing for the last year(s) is not going to do any good. ⁠
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👉DIVERSIFY...I've preached this a lot but I'm saying it again. Diversify- income streams & traffic sources. Again, don't panic and add 10 new things to your plate but if you haven't been focusing on Pinterest lately, maybe It's time to shift some resources to that for example. ⁠
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👉BUILD YOUR EMAIL LIST...Whether it's creating a new lead magnet, adding a call to action slide to your web stories, creating pins for your existing lead magnet or just simply making your opt in more visible on your site...just do it 🤣⁠
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I've seen a LOT of these changes over the years and the one thing I can say is that bloggers are resilient. Keep on keeping on, try not to get frustrated (I know, easier said than done) and remember your 'why'. 😍
I LOVE seeing results like this! This is the last I LOVE seeing results like this! This is the last 30 days on a client's account...results are for HER pins leading to HER site! 🥳⁠
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It's not too late to book our done-for-you Pinterest services for Q4 but time is running out! Usually, we are fully booked for the remainder of Q4 by mid-October each year. Grab your spot now at the link in my bio!
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Allison Lancaster

Copyright Online Business Solutions by Allison R. Lancaster, LLC · 2022
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