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| Kate (selfie) |
As you know, I am in Maui on holiday right now and there is so much to write about, like my snorkelling trip today or the restaurant Wade and I had dinner at last night. So for me to sit down and focus on the blog challenge is, well, quite frankly a challenge right now. My brain is addled from the sun and I have a glass of champagne just calling my name so digging deep to discuss staffing and building trust and credibility is tough.
For those of you interested in reading the blog post challenge I have kept it brief and it follows this paragraph. If you only want to read about Snorkelling the Molokini Crater, then please skip down to that post a few paragraphs down.
In my own business as a Sun Life Advisor I fully understand the value of having a team of experts working with me. The same goes for any business, do what you are good at and outsource the rest to a trusted team. If I hadn't had the help of my amazing assistant Mary and my telemarketer Michelle in 2011 and 2012 I know I would not have achieved the success I did.
When it comes to having a successful online business the first thing I would outsource is the set-up and design of a proper site. Secondly I would have someone who is a wiz at video editing work with all my vlogs to ensure they look professional and have those cool "click here" links embedded in them. I know it's something I could learn over time, but really why mess around. I want them to look flash right from the beginning so for that I need a pro. As the business grows I would need someone to manage my email lists, course schedules etc.
Speaking of growth, there is the whole matter of how to grow a community of followers who trust me and find value in what I have to offer. I have seen this really manifest for me in the last year. For example, here is a message that I got today from David asking me if I could speak at his Financial Center in January.
"All I want to say is I know I don't really know you but I feel like I do after reading that book. I want you to know that You are an amazing person and I'm so happy I met you. I will always be a fan and I hope to be able to have a coffee one day soon. Our Financial Center wanted to know if you would come in Jan to be a guest speaker on your experiences. For our AGM."
I know that is a bit of tooting my own horn, but it shows that what I do is of value and since doing speaking events is one of the important items in my "future dream world", I know I am heading in the right direction. My plan is to continue to share my experiences, network and grow my community via Facebook, other social media and in person so I get more invitations to speak which will lead to more credibility with the ultimate goal that my online podcasts and training will become products that people are interested in. On that note....here is my post about our day snorkelling.
Snorkelling the Molokini Crater.
What a day we have just had. We had to get the kids up at six am. Can you imagine waking two teenagers who had been up until at least midnight? I can tell you it was not a pretty sight.
When we got to the Pacific Whale Foundation office at six-thirty they were grumpy and not interested in going anywhere, let alone out to spend a day in the sun (they were already sunburnt from yesterday at Big Beach - No MUM we don't need sunscreen! NOT!). Anyway, the morning did not start out well and I was wondering just what the heck I was thinking taking them on this trip.
Then Mike, one of the amazing guides from our boat came and popped by while we were having breakfast (which the little monsters did not eat). He made a huge effort to get them out of their funk and promised Kate he would have her smiling before the end of the day. Thankfully it didn't take that long.
After a quick continental breakfast, during which our small group of 26 watched a massive group of about 120 people heading out on a similar trip, (glad I was not on that one), we followed Mike down to the small boat that was to take us to our two snorkelling sites.
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| One of the Turtles from today Photo by Kate |
The way out was very educational, it turns out Mike, Dana and Brian (the captain) were all college educated naturalists and knew a lot about marine life and the ocean. They spoke a little about the Molokini Crater and some of the fish we would see there. Having been both snorkelling and diving in many parts of the world, including the South Pacific, I wasn't sure how impressed I would be with this location. I have to tell you it was impressive.
The water is bright, azure blue and crystal clear. We could see right to the bottom, which at the point we were stopped was about forty feet. We saw the most incredible brightly coloured fish and lots of them. There were Parrotfish, Triggerfish, Butterflyfish, Eel, you name it, almost all of the Hawaiian reef fish were hanging out today. The water was 21 degrees Celsius which I found a little cold so I had to wear a neoprene long sleeved shirt, but most of the people had no problem with the temperature.
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| Keeping warm |
After an hour at the first stop in the middle of the Molokini Crater we were lucky enough (because the weather was so calm today) to be taken around to the backside of the crater where we dropped in for a quick snorkel along the rock wall. The water here was incredible. It was like floating in the biggest, brightest blue orb you have ever seen. There weren't as many fish as this was the rougher side of the crater and the swell, even though it was a calm day, was still quite strong, but it was worth it to swim in that bluest of blue oceans.
We then headed out to see a lava field that had flown down into the ocean. This was at the east end of the island. It was pretty amazing to see the big black lava rocks running all along the land and right into the ocean. Afterwards we headed back up to Makena Landing where we got to swim with the turtles. The kids had such a blast. Kate especially was in there forever taking pictures of the turtles and diving as deep as she could possibly go
to see all the fish.
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| Another great green Turtle Photo by Kate |
I loved that the place was not filled with snorkellers and there was plenty of room to see the beautiful marine life in peace.
We came back to the boat to enjoy a full on BBQ with chicken. hot dogs, veggie burgers, salad and a cold beer. YUM! Then it was a short trip back to the harbour in Ma'alaea. We arrived back by about two o'clock, which made for another long day in the sun, but it was fantastic.
I highly recommend The Pacific Whale Foundation's snorkel tour. They offer a few different choices, we chose the one called the Molokini Wild Side because it was a small group and took us to a little more rugged spots. If however you are a beginner snorkeller, there are many other options available from The Pacific Whale Foundation. As an added bonus, while we were having fun we were also making a difference. 100% of the profits from Pacific Whale Foundation's Eco-Adventures go to supporting research, education and conservation programs on behalf of whales, dolphins and the ocean environment. You can't beat that.
Thanks Mike, Dana and Brian for a fantastic day. This is what Kate had to say about it:
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| Another Selfie by Kate |
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