When Life Gives You Bananas...

A couple of months ago, my husband and I decided to become members of BJ's as it was right down the road and we knew that they had some great deals on groceries, etc. As part of their 'thank you for becoming members' gift, we received a very large bunch of bananas.

Unfortunately, this large bunch of bananas was very green. As you may or may not know, green bananas rarely turn a lovely yellow once you get them home- they often go straight to an aged brown. Sadly, this was the case with our bananas.

I've never been someone that could easily throw out food (blame it on the 'starving children' routine we all heard as kids), so I decided to make banana nut bread- which actually tastes better when made with over-ripened bananas. Because of the overabundance of over-ripened bananas I had, I was able to make multiple loaves of bread and freeze a few of them.

Last night I was eating one of the last slices of the last loaf of bread when it occurred to me...if I was able to turn a large bunch of free (but seemingly useless) green bananas into multiple loaves of bread (which we were able to enjoy for two months straight) and I only had to purchase a small bag of pecans to make it happen...what could this mean for my voice over business?

All over the Internet, there are a thousand 'free' ways to get my name out there (Linked In, Facebook, Twitter, etc). Is there a way to add a dash of creativity and effort and turn a little social networking into lucrative opportunities that could be enjoyed for months and years down the road? While I have stumbled into some work just by being 'present' online, I haven't yet made a conscious effort to really use the tools I have at my fingertips.

As I look for new ways to market my business this year, I plan to find different ways to test my 'banana theory'. I know the tools are right here, but it's up to me to find new ways to use them before throwing something that could be great into the trash.