Think Before You Act

Isn't that the kind of advice we give our kids? You know, instruct them to take a moment to think through their actions and the potential consequences, for example, before they stick the metal tweezers in the electrical outlet?

As bloggers and aspiring businesswomen, we need to heed that same advice.

Years ago, after I finished my first large client project, I was approached about another potential opportunity. To us humans, money can be like blood is to a vampire. We need it to live and once we get a taste of it, we want more. More!

I was excited about the prospect of another client, but when I heard it was a group that wanted to promote the goodness of HFCS, I walked away. I wasn't thinking about myself or fledgling consulting business as a "brand," it just didn't seem like a good fit.

Since then I've turned down other opportunities and failed to follow up on others because I'm picky like that.

When I tell people about MomImpact:
"We connect brands and bloggers for conversations, events and product reviews,"

I get this reaction:
"Oh, you match brands and bloggers like {insert name of much larger organization}."

And then I explain that I'm much smaller and not likely to set the blogging world afire because I'm picky. (That said, I have some exciting, value-added projects in the works for MomImpact members.)

I don't have a set checklist of questions I review for each potential client (or product review opportunity on this blog), I do a gut check, though.

If I did have a checklist, it would look something like this:

• Would I purchase or consider purchasing this product with my own money?
• Would I eat or use this product?
• Is this a product I would want to share with my real-life friends?

My business is not me. It has its own tax ID and is a true corporate entity. And yet...it is me. Or at least a reflection of me.

Your blog and your business are reflections of you, too.

Which is a very long-winded way of saying you must read Mom 101's post about blog product review tours gone wrong. Specifically, she's writing about the current "corn sugar" blog tour, but you can ignore that.

Focus on the Big, Important Questions in her post.

There are many.

Answer them.

Answer them for yourself.

Answer them for your readers.

I don't care if you answer them in her comments, in my comments, on tiny scraps of paper, on your blog, or in your head, just answer them.

Understand that Liz's answers and my answers and your answers may be very similar. Or they may be completely different. And that's okay. We're not the mom-Borg collective, after all.

Our opinions may change over time. And that's okay, too. Jan Brady taught us that it's a woman's prerogative to change her mind.

The important things are to know where you stand in the here and now and think about where you are headed.

And if you are so inclined, I'd love to know what kind of questions you ask yourself before taking on a new client or product for review.

Okay, you made it to the end. Now go read Liz's post.
Edited to add: Mir's post about not selling out, is also a great read.

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