My team and I spend a lot of time discussing social media with Commonwealth advisors and how they can use it for business purposes, including connecting with existing clients and reaching out to new ones. But what many want to know is whether we know of any advisors who've had success in using these sites. I'm here to say, social media success for financial advisors does happen!

Recently, my husband and I were invited for a night out. I immediately called our babysitter and left a voice mail. She got back to me quickly . . . via text. At first, I wasn't sure how to respond. Should I text her back? Did I really have a choice? After all, in a neighborhood full of kids, getting a good sitter isn't easy! It quickly became clear to me that to be successful, I'd have to get used to communicating in this new medium.

My family and I were lucky enough to get away to St. John recently, and, for anyone who’s never been, it’s beautiful. We did nothing but go to the pool and the beach every day, and we had a blast. But, with three young kids, it wasn’t exactly “relaxing.” Still, it was so calm and pretty there, I thought it was a great spot for us to get lost—but just for a week.

One of my son’s favorite things to do is have me look up a character on Google Images and then draw it by hand. Luckily, he is only six and thinks that I’m a terrific artist (for the record, I am not), so he pretty much accepts anything that I do as being really great. But it isn’t always that easy to please other people.