Hang around here for a while and you’ll meet the most interesting women!

For example, several weeks ago, a good girlfriend invited us to dinner to meet a multi talented musician, author, poet, actress, activist born in Southern Colorado near the New Mexico border from an educated and  political Hispanic family.

Her name is well known in New Mexico circles, but not just as an entertainer. She’s not afraid to speak up and take action when her people and community need a leader to bring attention to the plight of the rural areas of Colorado and New Mexico. She has become the keeper of the language and culture of the people.

Her Name: Veronica Ortiz. In some circles she is known as “The Gypsy Nun”.

We were treated to a delicious Cuban dinner, an eclectic and fun mix of guests and a performance of delightful and beautiful songs sung in spanish, a soothing voice and a strumming guitar. It was a delightful evening, but even more engaging were the stories told by this greying woman of the world, who now sticks close to her home of  El Rito, a rural setting, which, while beautiful, is suffering from lack of water as a result of drying up wells from years of drought.

It’s a Problem. People Need Water!

And the discussion was…how is it possible that the government in this great United States of ours, one of the richest nations in the world, cannot seem to provide for the basic needs of it’s people! People Need WATER! And because this is an aging and economically depressed rural area, the people cannot afford to pay for the infrastructure needed to pipe in water. The problem is falling on deaf ears.

But rather than dwell on it, Veronica just does what she can to help her community AND she has many stories to tell of her younger days growing up on a sheep ranch in a family of 13 children. She talks with a focus on the benefits of her experiences…

as a nun in training at a Benedictine Convent…

Deciding to leave the order to travel and follow her love of music and creativity…

The consequence of that ending in divorce and separation with her children…

Winning recognition and awards as an artist, actress, as well as activist…

As a multimedia maven and as a natural communicator, I am passionate about revealing the remarkable stories of GutZy Women!

Our stories are important and for many years were hidden away from the history books, but couldn’t be stopped as women LOVE to talk and we pass stories on by  word of mouth, woman to woman and then pass the down to our children. But often they get lost, as they have in my family.

Just exactly why I LOVE this medium called the internet with all of it’s capabilities to communicate, connect, educate, archive and inspire! Won’t you join us?

Don’t forget to come back when Part 2 is unleashed! 

In the meantime, there is much to gain from the TONS of INFO at my website

AND, there is MORE to gain from Veronica’s Wisdom…

Do you ever try out new software that comes with a new computer?

If you’re like me, then you probably just stick with what you know, get the work done that you need to, and tell yourself you’ll try the new stuff when you get a chance. Do you find that “chance” very rarely shows up? Yeah, me too…

Until yesterday when I decided to try the video template software that Vaio so kindly placed within my computer.

You may have seen some of the videos I made using the “Flip” templates. I REALLY LOVE my flip, but I find the templates are pretty limiting, so when I took on the job for a friend of shooting action shots of her kids playing softball, I was on the lookout for something other than Muvee (the company that makes the software for the “Flip”).

Sometimes I use Window’s Movie Maker, but that didn’t excite me, so I actually was surprised to find a software fromVaio just sitting there and decided to try it. They have created some very cool templates, complete with special effects and music, so I got all excited and started to play.

Frustration took over when I realized that the only way I was going to get it to work right was to upload one picture at a time and recreate the movie over and over again. It took me HOURS!

Another problem I had was that the template panned the pictures so that the focus ended up being on the kids bodies rather than their heads and faces. I did then try to find just the right shots, but WHAT A PAIN!

Don’t you just hate it when these companies create software that is supposedly made for non-professionals which are easy and fast to use, but they end up being more of a hinderance than a help?

I would LOVE to hear about your experiences with video software, what works well, what’s easy and fast and FUN!

To check out more GutZy Women Videos, click here

I LOVE online video as a way to learn as well as to get to know people…

Real people and honest communication. It’s taking the internet by storm, so obviously there are alot of people who feel like I do.

It’s being used in so many diverse ways, my head explodes at times trying to keep up. But one way I’ve been testing is to capture “off the cuff” testimonials from the women who attend my workshops…ON VIDEO.

I upload them to YouTube, then to my GutZy Women website and my Virtual Clubhouse Community site. It’ll be interesting to get feedback from the women who were GutZy enough to talk into my Flip Camera as well as learn the reactions of the viewers who watch them. 

There’s really nothing new about video testimonials…internet marketers have been using them for years now…especially on their sales pages. But my point is, why aren’t more “regular” small business people using this strategy?

Some of the websites or blogs in my circle of influence have written testimonials, but very few are using this powerful sales tool. What’s the resistance?

Without YOUR input, here’s my best guess:

Isn’t it too expensive?

Hey, if I had to hire my professional video gal with Dreamteller to come from Pueblo to Colorado Springs at the end of my workshop to shoot and edit these, I most probably would question the financial investment based on it being a new, unproven marketing strategy (in my experience, anyway). I’d certainly want to justify the expense!

But what I LOVE about this kind of guerilla marketing is that I can now put it out on the web for FREE! Yes, it did take my time, and I had to learn how to do some basic editing as well as learn how to upload it to YouTube, but how much more powerful are these testimonials than the same ol’, same ol’?

It’s well known that we women buy based on the recommendation of others…especially those whom we get to know and trust. So doesn’t it makes sense?

Will they really give me a testimonial in front of a camera?

Some may balk at first, play shy or be embarrased, but if you make it fun, easy and not a big deal AND they truly like you and value what you offer, you’ll find very little resistance. If they are business people as well, you can explain the free exposure for them as well.

As YouTubers, we get used to seeing each other as we naturally appear most of the time. Think about how different that is compared to what we’ve become used to on TV and the Big Screen. We’re actually changing the power of the past to determine our perception of what is.

We’re starting to look forward to real messages from real people, which may lead to more trust, honesty and value. If nothing else, we get to know someone a bit better, what they do, what have to offer, what they’re like. Same thing with social networking.

It’s said we buy from the people we know and trust…

Is that true for you?

Isn’t it too complicated and technical?

Would  millions of people produce their own videos, put them up on tons of new video sharing sites if it was that hard? The new cameras and new softwares make it so easy! Sure, it may not be “professional quality” but the question is does it serve the purpose?

Click on the link below, take a look at the short video testimonials of real GutZy Women who attended my workshops and let me know what YOU think!

CLICK HERE TO CHECK THEM OUT!

(By the way, this social proof shows how important it is that you sign up for our workshops!:)