Monday, January 14, 2013

Time Management: Expand Time As You Expand Your Life

by CathyG

"Many of my clients say, “I don’t know what happened! I used to have time to do everything.” Well, what happened? Their businesses grew. Their priorities shifted...Here are a few ways to think about expanding time as you expand your life."

Read article here
http://midlifecareerstrategy.com/blog/archives/2295

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Surprising Ways to Find Great Start-up Ideas

by Penelope Trunk

"In order for your ideas to seem fresh, they have to be a little bit off-center, a little bit off-kilter. You have to see your ideas a little more clearly than everyone else in order to believe they will work."

Read article here
http://www.inc.com/penelope-trunk/surprising-ways-to-find-great-startup-ideas.html?cid=em01012week29

Thursday, December 27, 2012

7 Ways You're Wasting Time and Don't Even Know It

Some thoughtful tips and advice on finding ways to de-clutter your day and find time to get the most important tasks done!

Read article here
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/224090?cam=Dev&ctp=PopRightMod&cdt=2&cdn=224090

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

10 Questions Entrepreneurs Can Ask to Focus Their Vision

by Jackie Nagel

While the mission of your business centers on what you are called to achieve, your vision is the result of all you desire to accomplish. It is your ideal - your future. The vision you create for your business is the sustaining force that stimulates innovation, communicates passion, and inspires the masses to action. It is the vacuum that pulls you, and others, forward.

Read article here
http://projecteve.com/profiles/blogs/10-questions-entrepreneurs-can-ask-to-focus-their-vision

Saturday, December 15, 2012

How to Use Facebook for Home Business Success

By Sue Papadoulis

Can you really make money from Facebook? Yes, you can! It's a two-sided process though. On one hand you need the technical information to set up professional pages and give people the opportunity to access you and your products. But most importantly, you need to be willing to create an emotional connection with potential customers.

Here's how I created a presence on Facebook that has led to thousands of dollars in product sales, valuable joint venture opportunities, invitations to speak on teleseminars, invitations to co-author two books, and the creation of a supportive and overwhelmingly positive community of like-minded people who love what I do:

1. Un-friend your high school mates or anyone who won't relate to the 'new you' in business. Like most people when I first joined Facebook it was all about connecting with long lost school friends. In fact it was the ONLY reason I joined, because I was about to attend my high school reunion and the organisers set up a special page for the event. Once I decided to use Facebook for business, I was shocked by the reaction of some friends who actually poked fun at my posts and left inappropriate comments, simply because I wasn't being the person they knew in high school. So, I deliberately un-friended high school mates and anyone else that wasn't a business contact. In fact, I don't have too many social friends on Facebook now because we connect in person, via email or the phone.

2. Post about your business life: In order to encourage people to engage you need to give them a reason to return to your pages, which means there's plenty of activity by posting at least a few times a day. Rather than posting about your personal life, write about what's happening in your business - successes and challenges.

3. Don't be fearful of revealing yourself: Everyone faces challenges and difficult times - opening yourself up to reveal your own fears, doubts and issues can help you create closer relationships (of course this is true in any social setting). Let your personality shine through - warts and all.

4. Answer questions and leave comments: The more active you are on group pages relating to your industry the more likely you are to be seen as an expert in your field. Answer questions from others if you can help, and leave positive comments.

5. Connect with key influencers: Each industry has a handful of people who are 'key influencers' - those who are the stars and who many others look up to. Associate yourself with these people. Friend them, like their group pages, comment on their posts and answer the questions of others in their circle.

6. Don't write anything you wouldn't want to be seen on the front page of a newspaper, or have your mother read: You can create great working relationships with people all over the world, but never forget that everything you post is public and could easily get into the hands of people it wasn't intended for. You must always maintain your professionalism.

Follow these steps and you'll be well on your way to having an effective Facebook presence that makes you money.

And the technical side? I recently bought the re-sale rights for a fantastic video training course on how to make money from Facebook fan (or 'like') pages. It gives you all the technical information you need to set up a professional Facebook fan page, drive traffic to your page and sell products. Find out more here.

© 2010 Home Biz Chicks

WANT TO USE THIS REPORT IN YOUR E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:
Online entrepreneur Sue Papadoulis empowers and inspires others, to live the life of their dreams by starting and growing successful home businesses. She is the founder of Home Biz Chicks, which provides step-by-step advice on getting started, marketing, PR, finances, best mindset, and juggling work vs. home. Access Sue's special video (valued at $279) How to Generate Free Publicity for Your Business free at http://www.diyprkit.com. Get Sue's $79 audio CD Secrets to Home Biz Success free at http://www.homebizchickscd.com.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

5 Ways to Improve Cash Flow

by Matt Quinn

If you're looking for a quick fix for cash-flow problems, good luck. But if you're serious about making strategic changes, read on for five tips on how to increase your cash flow. Plus: More accounting advice on managing your company's numbers.

Read his tips here
http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/06/how-to-improve-cash-flow.html

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Hurricane Sandy

We had been offline preparing since 10/27, due to hurricane Sandy. On 10/29 we had a mandatory evacuation from our area, that was subsequently hit hard and almost completely wiped out. I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude and wishes to all who have survived this storm and send our prayers to those who are still in the recovery process. We were blessed in that we had a place to go to (my parents) and that our power was finally restored after 10 days. Although we are still going through some issues and are not 100% back in our home (as of 11/28) we are just grateful that we at least still have a home. Sincerely Patricia

Thursday, October 18, 2012

2 Radical Ideas for Start Up Success

It's a pretty well-accepted fact that entrepreneurs typically approach business differently than traditional Corporate America workers.

But many successful entrepreneurs take it a step further and completely flip the script in order to subscribe to a new business paradigm. Would your business benefit from a new way of thinking?

Read article here
http://www.inc.com/khary-cuffe/radical-ideas-for-start-up-success.html?cid=em01012week29

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

15 Dumb Mistakes to Avoid When Pitching Investors

The Young Entrepreneur Council asked 15 successful young entrepreneurs about the dumb mistakes entrepreneurs make when initially pitching to investors. Here are their best answers.

Read their comments here
http://www.inc.com/young-entrepreneur-council/12-dumb-mistakes-to-avoid-when-pitching-investors.html?cid=em01012week29

Friday, October 5, 2012

Counseling and Training /SBA.gov

SBA is dedicated to helping you and your small business succeed. There are a variety of online and offline trainings which cover many business topics for you to learn.

Read information here
http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/counseling-training

Saturday, September 29, 2012

The Anatomy of a Killer Business Plan

by Peter Cohan Founder of Peter S. Cohan & Associates

"Unless you have a spectacular track record as an entrepreneur or an exceptionally great new business idea, you cannot raise capital without a business plan. I have invested in six start-ups and three of those were sold for a total of $2 billion. The other three went out of business."

Read article here
http://www.inc.com/peter-cohan/the-anatomy-of-a-killer-business-plan.html?cid=em01012week33

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

An Introduction to Business Plans

A business plan is a written description of your business's future. That's all there is to it--a document that describes what you plan to do and how you plan to do it. If you jot down a paragraph on the back of an envelope describing your business strategy, you've written a plan, or at least the germ of a plan.

Read article here
http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/businessplans/article38290.html

Friday, September 21, 2012

12 Tips for Balancing Entrepreneurship & Parenthood

The Young Entrepreneur Council asked 12 successful young entrepreneurs about how to better balance the demands of growing children and a growing business. Here are their best answers.

Read the tips here
http://www.inc.com/young-entrepreneur-council/entrepreneurship-and-parenthood-making-room-for-both.html?cid=em01012week33

Monday, September 17, 2012

Tools for Creating an Employee Handbook

"...When well written and organized properly, it clearly sets forth your expectations for employees, describes what they can expect from your company, and lays out your legal obligations as an employer and your employee's rights. The following guide brings together tools to help you assemble an effective handbook."

Read details here
http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/08/tools-for-creating-an-employee-handbook.html?partner=newsletter_Success

Friday, September 14, 2012

How to Write a Summary Business Plan

by Darren Dahl

A business plan doesn't have to be all encompassing, especially when you're trying to generate buzz. Here are the elements you really need.

Read article here
http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/08/how-to-write-a-summary-business-plan.html?partner=newsletter_Startup

Sunday, September 9, 2012

10 Essential Tweets (Starting or Running a Business)

Entrepreneur Magazine - March 2010

As if we needed to tell you, not all tweets are created equal. Some are not only worth following, but also essential for anyone starting or running a business. This month, Entrepreneur kicks off a new feature, asking business leaders to name their 10 top Twitter feeds, and why. First up: A mix of business, culture, tech and news, chosen by our Editor-in-Chief Amy Cosper (that is, @EntMagazineAmy).

Read her list here
http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2010/march/205002.html

Saturday, September 1, 2012

7 Ways to Improve Employee Satisfaction

by Gretchen Rubin

Employee attitudes typically reflect the moral of the company. In areas of customer service and sales, happy employees are extremely important because they represent the company to the public. Satisfaction, however, is not linked solely to compensation.

Read article here
http://www.inc.com/guides/201105/7-ways-to-improve-employee-satisfaction.html?partner=newsletter_Success