Open For Business, Finally

This has got to be the longest grand opening ever but here goes....

Relationships Matter Now, LLC is open for business.

I know, I've been dabbling, teasing and even doing independent projects, collecting clients here and there for the last 2 years. But as of Feb 16, 2012 - Relationships Matter Now, LLC is taking up 100% of all my vocational energy.

It has been exhilarating and scary time. Because I hung out the shingle so long ago and have morphed and evolved what RMN is many times - here goes a little Q & A for those of you who have been around awhile.

What is Relationships Matter Now, LLC?

We are a boutique marketing consultant firm that specializes in bringing new products or services to market. This was a very easy decision. When I looked at my entire career, with the exception of my time at Sears (and there was some application there albeit really stretching), I've always been the pioneer marketer. The one who comes up with the plan and process to bring something new to market. To reach folks and lure them in for the trial.

Every single position I held in a company was a newly created position or one that I created from another role within the company. It made all the sense in the world for my venture to start by partnering with clients to bring something new to market.

We also serve as a strategic business partner for several clients providing overall business strategy consulting as well as marketing strategy, marketing planning and execution. I say we, because I have a solid team of other consultants across the US pitching in on most of the engagements we currently have.

Because relationships are our greatest asset, we have partners is various industries and use them to advance the business of our partners as well as our own.

Wasn't Relationships Matter Now, LLC gonna do something with relationships or relational wellness?

My,  do you have a great memory! Yes - two years ago at exactly this time - Relationships Matter Now was in the running for a Pepsi Refresh Everything Project grant to start bringing relational wellness programming to the forefront. We came thisclose to actually winning a grant but never did.

To answer the question - why yes, we were and are doing "something with relationships".  Relationships Matter Now is committed to leading the conversation on how relationships really work versus how we think they should work. We facilitate workshops and have led strategy sessions for clients who want to help their employees leverage relationships to boost profitability.

Helping folks strengthen their own Chain of Relationships - starting with self,  is still at the core of our values. However, partnering with clients to build and grow thriving relationships with their target customers is also a core value and competency of our firm.

RelationshipsMatterNow.com still has a goal to be the "WebMD" of relationships and serve as a hub for all things relationship. We are in the strategic planning stages of just how and when we march toward that goal. Stay tuned. The site will be morphing to match our current trajectory soon.

What makes Relationships Matter Now, LLC any different from anyone else out there selling marketing services?

Honestly, it's our relationships.

Starting with our relationships with our self. We know what we can do and cannot do. We operate from a place of complete integrity and are transparent with our partners thus encouraging reciprocal transparency.

And as a result of our strong relationships with self, our relationships with others are solid. The people and firms we choose to partner with are all connected to us personally. And yes, that does matter. When you operate from a place of working with people who share vision and values - not necessarily styles, you can never go wrong. There is never a need to convince. Ever. There is mutual respect for our talents and what everyone brings to the table and makes our partnerships more important that the project itself.

Will this blog change after this announcement?

Not at all. We are still committed to exploring and interacting with folks about all kinds of relationship topics. Now, the idea is to become more disciplined in posting. We'll see how that goes. This is the first week of one job focus and we're off to a great start.


So there's a glimpse of what's to come.  Thanks for being a huge part of this journey and stay tuned to see where we go.

We are about to change the world.

One relationship at a time.

HEY YOU GUUUYYYS!

Easily one of my favorite phrases of all times from the 70s Children's Television Workshop masterpiece, Electric Company. Rita Moreno could be shouting that this month on behalf of Relationships Matter Now.

Feeling like the Doobie Bros this month as I have been TAKING IT TO THE STREETS! The goal at the beginning of the month was to get the word out as much as I could about Relationships Matter Now in order to secure funding from the Pepsi Refresh Everything Project.

"We can make our plans but the Lord determines our steps." Proverbs 16:9 NLT

There has never been more true of a statement and that is ESPECIALLY true for me and Relationships Matter Now right now.

First, we were featured on two BlogTalk Radio shows this month - follow the links below to listen:

Dr. Mommy Family Talk - Relationships Matter

Meet Denise Barreto on SmartWoman Radio

Those were planned opportunities to get the word out about my project. Both were really great conversations and afforded me audiences who had not been aware of what were are doing before now.

Relationships Matter Now started a Facebook page,  find us at www.facebook.com/relationshipsmatternow

NOW - three new collaboration opportunities have come to fruition and I will be meeting with a web developer early next week. I

Besides wanting to share with you the progress of Relationships Matter Now- the secondary purpose of this post is to follow up on a post I wrote earlier this month entitled Keep Moving Forward. Exactly 10 days ago, I wrote about the importance of keeping forward motion in life especially when it's hard. If you will take a moment to go back and read that post here and come back and re-read this one. It will all be clear.

We must push ourselves through the moments when we've had enough. Great rewards await us on the other side.

Pepsi Refresh Everything Project - TAKE TWO!

Later this week - precisely Saturday May 1 - I will turn up the noise again on my Pepsi Refresh Everything Project - Relationships Matter Now.

In case you haven't been with me - here's the deal: I have an idea to revolutionize relationships on our planet. Pepsi is giving away money for good ideas. I got my idea into consideration in the first month February and I did decent in voting reaching the top 30. In March - I started the month super strong and remained in funding contention (only top ten ideas are funded in my category) from March 1 - until the fateful day March 19 when I fell to 11 and finished in 15 place.

We took April to regroup and here two updates that will make this campaign different:

1. PARTNERSHIP

I have partnered with a well known organization (can't say who but believe me it's big - it is an established non-profit organization in over 300 communities servicing more than 2 million members at 1,778 sites in the US alone) to send out weekly reminders to their network to garner votes for my project.

2. MEDIA

In addition to my daily social media efforts on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, I will be the guest on two different blog radio programs with a combined reach of over 25,000 followers of these two personalities. First on Wed May 12 and then again on Wed May 19 - I'll tweet/FB on those times so you can listen or point you to the podcasts afterwards. I am looking for other opportunities to get the word out in the regular media. Toying around with two news personalities here in Chicago that I have connections to.. will update on that soon.

The rest is up to you - the good old fashioned -word-of-mouth spreading of the the project and link. I am so appreciative of the past efforts and am counting on your diligence to push me to get the funding in May.

Here is the link - long way www.refresheverything.com/relationshipsmatternow or the shortened link http://pep.si/ap8Zao when you tweet.

If you are not following me on twitter - please go and do it now - find me under DeniseWBarreto - that way you can hear updates and get reminders to vote frequently.

Finally - I am open to any ideas you may have to help get votes to get the funding. Leave me a note here or reach out on one of the other channels of communication.

Thanks for believing in me and my idea.

Relationships Matter Now, LLC - Plan B????

Some time in the last few days as I have been furiously campaigning (begging) for votes for my Pepsi Refresh project as I have simultaneously watched my rank drop almost daily... the thought of plan B crept in.

Funny, that it would be positioned in my mind as "Plan B". You see Relationship Matter Now, LLC was always going to happen in 2010. In fact, if you take a look back at my 2010 Objectives - it's there loud and clear. Conspicuously - there is no mention of Pepsi or Pepsi Refresh Everything Project. When I wrote those goals and set out in December with Simplicity Inc., my small business consultants, to mount this movement - there was no Pepsi Refresh cash in the plans.

So as I head on vacation for one week to plug out of all things work related - I want everyone who has been SO GRACIOUS and FAITHFUL in voting, commenting and supporting my bid for this project to know where I stand.

Relationships Matter Now, LLC will be incorporated by July.

You see on that grand day the second week in March when I spent the entire time thinking, planning and strategizing my points of entry for this idea - the possibility of not getting the grant was not in my mind. I was focused on the what, when, where, who - the "how" was still not clear. It is no more clear today.

But the support, comments and convergence of circumstances has validated this concept and made me more certain that this is the time to start this conversation - this movement.

One day last week - my husband said to me - "Denise, you know if you don't get the grant - we can 'loan' you the $5k to get your company started." I was so touched and authentically moved to tears that my partner in life was so plugged in to this important movement, especially because he and our journey together inspired it.

Since Relationships Matter Now LLC is not "work" for me - I will spend at least a few hours thinking on how we move forward without the Pepsi Refresh money - EVEN THOUGH I'm planning a VOTE-A-THON Tuesday night from a remote town in Mexico (you can join us virtually). Interesting in one breath, I am talking post 5 days from now without the grant - yet never truly throwing in the towel on getting it.

That my friends, is why you can count on hearing about Relationships Matter Now, LLC very soon. Because what is Plan B to everyone else was always Plan A for me.

Authentic Faithfulness

This morning I had an epiphany.

Almost everyday in the month of February, my daily bible readings mostly from Psalms referenced God's faithfulness. Because February was a particularly challenging month - I was reading that to be an affirmation of God's faithfulness to me. Without question, that is 100% true - God has been tremendously faithful to me especially last month.

March is 13 days old and has been a mixed bag with many references to faithfulness in my daily studies. Today, once again I had a reference to faithfulness in John 16:33 and I don't want to freak anyone out but this is the truth:

Minutes after reading the verse when I was doing my daily voting for my Pepsi Refresh Project and posting to ask my Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter crew to vote - I started reading some of the comments from my friends who are cheering me on. Everyday that I post the link on my Facebook account or Tweet to my Twitter Tweeps - I am just humbled by the RTs (re-tweets) and the comments from the FAITHFUL friends who are voting everyday and keeping me in the running for this grant.

I would swear that God literally spoke to me and said "Denise - you know of my faithfulness to you - you've experienced it many times. What I am showing you now is the faithfulness of others."

Guys, the faithfulness I am currently experiencing from my friends and friends of friends -the daily voters, commenters and re-tweeting buddies is a foreshadowing of what the relational wellness movement is going to do for our world.

Quite honestly, that's part of what's missing anymore in relationships - faithfulness to each other, day-in and day-out. I am experiencing a taste of this now on the road securing my grant.

Thank you friends, friends of friends and strangers for your authentic faithfulness to me.

Authentic Tipping Point #1

With less than three weeks left in the voting - my PepsiRefresh idea is hanging in the FUNDING ZONE (top ten ideas for my $5K funding category) and bringing Relationships Matter Now a step closer to reality.

Yesterday was the first "tipping point" moment in this journey to bring my life's work alive. I spent the entire day making plans, gathering resources and moving things into place to jump start Relationships Matter Now should I get the Pepsi funds in early April.

I actually lost my breath last night while recapping the day for my husband.

Tipping Point has three distinct meanings:

• Tipping point (physics), the point at which an object is displaced from a state of stable equilibrium into a new, different state
• Tipping point (sociology), the event in which a previously rare phenomenon becomes dramatically more common
• Tipping point (climatology), the point in which global climate changes irreversibly from one state to a new state

Malcolm Gladwell (one of my favorite writers) wrote about the social phenomenon of Tipping Point in his 2002 NY Times bestselling book - The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference.

Tune in...

We all know $5k is not a lot of money.

Stay tuned to see how "a little thing can make a big difference."

Authentic Refinement

See the piece of silver in the middle of the hot coals....

No doubt it will become a brilliant beautiful piece of jewelry in due time.

I can't imagine reaching in there and pulling it out before it is ready. I am certain the blacksmith in charge is close by monitoring its progress and waiting for the precise moment to pull it out to reveal it's best beauty.

I love silver. You can find me wearing a piece every single day. But I digress.

Tomorrow begins the third month of the great year 2010.

I got to be honest with you - February was brutal. The weather. The climate at my main job. My intense drive that, at times, disrupted our family rhythm.

With 1/6 of the year gone, I could not be happier. Bring on the restoration and renewal that is promised with the month of March.

However, great things were birthed from this brutal month we say goodbye to at midnight...

For one - my idea, RelationshipsMatterNow.com - a digital home for relational wellness where we will teach people to pro-actively take care of relationships in their lives, has held it's own in the Pepsi Refresh Everything Project voting. Out of a total 729 ideas - I have remained in the top ten health ideas for my $5,000 funding category throughout the voting period. As of right now - I am in fourth place for health ideas in that category and 27th overall in the $5k competition. That is incredible. I am proud and excited all at once. According to Pepsi Refresh Official Rules - the top 100 ideas that do not get funded in February roll over to March. That is great news and I am poised to keep my idea in the running for funding next month.

Two - an announcement tomorrow will solidify me as a leading marketing specialist in an area that is near and dear to my heart - the protection of Mother Earth. It is not often that you take part in something special at one company but to be able to take part in something special, at two separate companies in two different industries (manufacturing and retail) at two different eras in your career is well... remarkable.

It is very easy for us to focus on what didn't go well at any given time. Tonight, I am reflecting on the month of February that had me exercising diplomatic muscles I had no idea I had; a month that has presented obstacles that stretched my impatient pace into patience to go the extra five miles and converted my passion for "all things right" into a "hands in the air" surrender of all outcomes.

It is with great anticipation that I look to rest of the year. While February has kicked my butt several times and in several fashions - it has also honed me, shaped me and readied me for the next phase.

It is often stated that a blacksmith knows exactly how much time to hold his/her silver in the fire before it shines to its fullest. The process is known as refining. As a lover of silver - I don't question the blacksmith - I know that he/she has it covered. I just have to wait until its ready.

Just as I trust the blacksmith with silver - I trust my Maker with my life and my desires. If He decides that March will be similar to February - so be it- much was accomplished in the winter barren month of February. Like the silver in the picture above - I don't want to MESS with what is going on in my life and in my heart now as I press on toward my goals and objectives for 2010.

Authentically Good Idea - Vote Now!

Hard to believe that one year ago, I was asking the people of Lake in the Hills to vote for me to join the Village Board of Trustees. They heard, voted and I now represent them. Something tells me this time around it will be just a tad bit harder - but not impossible!

Voting opened at midnight at www.refresheverything.com for the Pepsi Refresh Everything Project where Pepsi will award grants of $5 - 250K to bring ideas to life across six areas, health, arts and culture, food and shelter, the planet, neighborhoods and education. Click here to vote for my project.

You've heard me ranting lately about my idea to start a movement to change the way we look at relationships; to enable all people to be relationally healthy. Well - the time has come for your help. My idea - RELATIONSHIPS MATTER NOW is up for vote in the health category and we need to end up in the top ten to secure the $5K grant by the end of February.

WHY SHOULD I VOTE FOR RELATIONSHIPS MATTER NOW?

Great question, it's simple. We live on this planet interdependent on others. From a brief transactional relationship at the coffee counter to our co-workers where ever we choose to lend out talent to our deep and personal relationships, we all interact and co-habit this planet with others. And from the looks of the way we deal with one another (think current political climate, divorce rates, verbal intimidation in the workplace) - it is time for a change.

Relationships Matter Now will exist (with or without the Pepsi grant) to help people take proactive care of their relationships. We will raise visibility to the need for relational wellness in every one's life. Relational wellness is taking responsibility to proactively care for all relationships in your life. It's a two-fold proposition:

1. Self-awareness - we all need a true understanding of our own relational issues and needs.

2. Relationship skills - we all need to build the skills necessary to function in healthy relationships.

Out of the gate - we want to build the web home for Relationships Matter Now and get 50,000 people to pledge to work on their relationships. Over the next week you will be directed to a new blog to support this effort and it will live at RelationshipsMatterNow.com. I've got an awesome designer working on a logo and we are getting the pledge document created as we speak.

Clearly with the help from Pepsi - we can get this going sooner rather than later. Long term, Relational Wellness will be in the health care debate - it's not just about reactionary care - proactive care is critical - from all angles - physical, mental, spiritual and now, relational. There is a personal responsibility to this as well as a corporate one. Relationships Matter Now will lead this movement and we need your help.

Join me and vote for this idea to get one of the first Pepsi Refresh Everything Grants. Voting started at midnight and goes until February 28. Winners will be announced on March 1.

Authentic Inspiration

The past week was brutal on me.

Work was... well it was work. Particularly frustrating this past week, more so than usual.

The disaster in Haiti just crippled me several times. Story after story of triumph and heartache.

An 11 year old girl who's last words to her mom were, "Mother, don't let me die." Hour after hour of the images, it's just too much.

Yet it inspired me. Inspired me to take a cold hard look at myself and my life.

Inspired me to take advantage of every opportunity to impact the world I live in. Big opportunities and little ones just the same.

Dictionary says inspiration is "the action or power of moving the intellect or emotions". Inspired is the adjective from the verb inspire which means "to exert an animating, enlivening or exalting influence on" or "to infuse" or "to spur on"

One year ago today, I walked into the village hall in Lake in the Hills to file my paperwork to join the Trustee Board race. You all know the outcome of that tale. Inspired by a lifetime of political interest and working on many victorious political campaigns for others, I mounted my own campaign, won and joined the ranks of elected officials and public servants last April.

Today, I tell you that I am going to lead a national conversation on how we change the way we look at relationships in our lives. We are going to change the way we support each other in relationships. We are going to INSPIRE people to pro-actively work on the relationships in their lives and guide them to the tools necessary.

I have been formulating plans since August. Holding productive meetings with that tight group of confidants since late November. Moving forward little by little, carefully calculating the next move.

Last week, the day after the earthquake, I applied for a grant from the Pepsi Refresh Everything Project to start RelationshipsMatterNow.com.

I am also applying to be in the Clever 1000, a network of social-media connected natural networkers and influencers who want to have a voice in engaging with and enhancing brands.

You see, inspiration is lost and/or wasted if there is no action to back it up. Of course, I'm making a donation. Today, in fact. Even thinking about joining a rebuilding project when they start. But that, for me is not enough. Because as my pastor said yesterday, "Anderson Cooper will fly to another location soon" and all eyes will turn away from Haiti.

What will be the fruits of the inspiration you've felt in these days?

Perhaps you will be inspired to hug your loved ones more tightly. Tell them you love them at every chance.

Perhaps you will think twice about how use the resources you've been blessed with.

Or maybe you'll read about the history of Haiti and learn more than the sound bites the media is feeding us.

Whatever you do - don't lose this opportunity to be authentically inspired to action of some kind. Make sure you convert the hurt and any energy you have felt by this disaster into something good.