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« March 2008 | Main | May 2008 »
DIY Tips For Indies on a Mission
I am pleased and honored to be included on page 59 of the May 2008 issue of Working Mother Magazine, in their Entrepreneur Mom: Ask a Pro department. They included my tips for turning a pastime or hobby into a profitable career, like the 650+ members of the Indie Beauty Network have done!
Click the article page to read all of the tips. What an honor to be included.
Post your best DIY to Dollars tips below!
Save Big, and Have More Left To Grow Your Business
According to money coach Alvin D. Hall, families can save the most money by cutting the family grocery budget. I agree, and joined Alvin and Michel Martin, host of Tell Me More on National Public Radio, to share my best tips on how you can save money on your grocery bill.
While you're listening to the show, print out "Donna Maria's Top 10 Tips for Using Coupons," which they posted at the site under the show link. Carry it with you so you are constantly reminded to save as much as you can. As always, special thanks to Real Coupon Queen for teaching me how to save money using coupons!
The less we spend on groceries, the more we have to pay ourselves first, and put the rest back into our businesses!
For more money saving tips, subscribe to my blog feed. And check out these other money saving posts:
Five Ways to Recession-Proof Your Business
Financial Contentment: You Can Achieve It!
How to Pursue Profit
Ask Not What the Economy Can Do For You
The Best Credit Card
Video: Saving Thousands With My Coupon Organizer
- Title: Podcasting For Profit
- Description: Leesa Barnes, author "Podcasting For Profit," will join E-Commerce Diva
Jamila White (sitting in for dM) to share how a podcast can help your business grow.
All Atwitter About Twitter
I am lured toward new technologies like a wave toward the shore. It's a good thing too, since it's impossible to be successful in business without embracing new technologies as they arrive on the scene. Lately, I'm atwitter about Twitter, which lets you "follow" people, and lets others "follow" you by leaving short messages summarizing things you'd like to share with others. It's like having your very own "breaking news" channel. My "followers" learn from me, and I learn from people I follow. What fun!
I'm planning to Twitter from the Conference of Handcrafted Soap Makers next week. If you'd like to follow the conference action as it unfolds, sign up to follow me at Twitter. Here's how.
1. Visit my Twitter link and click Join Today to open your account. If you have a business, consider using your brand name as your username since your Twitter page will correspond to that.
2. Once you have an account, go back to my Twitter link and sign up to follow me. (Use the "Follow" link under my picture.) Also, leave a comment below and let me know your username so I can visit your Twitter page and sign up to follow you.
3. When you meet a Twitterer you think I or other Indies would be interested in following, share their information here.
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Free Branding Advice for Max Garcia and William Righi
Today's New York Times lead story is about the worsening economy and how people are having to stretch each dollar further to make ends meet. In addition to the traditionally employed, the article also touches upon the plight of the self employed. Consider Max Garcia and William Righi, two small business owners struggling to keep their businesses afloat. Here's what they are doing online to accomplish that goal.
That's right, nothing. At least not from what I can see.
Max and William are today getting thousands and thousands of dollars worth of free publicity by being featured in the New York Times, and I can't find them on the Internet. I can help, but first, let's consider the reasons why their businesses are ailing -- reasons that have nothing to do with the economy.
Continue reading "Small Business Owners: Missing In Action" »
No Hard Hat, No Boots, No Business
As rewarding as small business ownership is, sometimes, it stinks. You often have to do the same things over and over for many months before seeing tangible results. You spend more than you plan to spend. You make less than you plan to make. To be successful in small business, you have to be ready for everything. This sign says it all.
Your hard hat is the tough skin you need to stick out the difficult times. Thin skin will earn you a thin profit margin. You have to ignore nay sayers and haters and push forward with your mission no matter what.
A Book Solidifies Your Position In a Crowded Market
These days, it's not enough to offer a great product or service. Of course, what you offer still has to be wonderful, but in order to sell it, you have to bring more to the party than quality and customer service. You have to bring you, and you must be an expert in your field. This segment of Indie Business TV shares how whether or not you are an expert in your field is directly connected to your financial bottom line.
My Media Leads Program was mentioned in this video, so click here to find out more.
Suggested Indie Business Radio Shows on The Topic of Book Publishing
How to Pitch Your Book Idea: interview with Deborah Balmuth
From Dream to Reality
Become a Published Author
Over at the Indie Business Forum, AnikaDiamond007 is overwhelmed with questions about starting a small business. This feeling of overwhelm is something I can personally relate to because I was once there. But overwhelm leads to frustration, and frustration leads to lost revenues when small business owners don't set specific goals and then systematically implement them. To help out, I created a video summarizing my Indie Business Model.
This is a summary of the system I personally followed, and I use it with my clients. It works! If you don't believe me, come to my monthly Indie Business Group Coaching sessions on Thursday nights and give it a test drive. Group Coaching is free to the public on the first Thursday of the month, and all other sessions are for IBN members only. If you're not a member, check out our member benefits and join today so you don't miss out!
If you enjoyed this video, subscribe to my blog feed so you don't miss my tips on how you can be successful in small business without pulling all your hair out!
Buy YourName.com to be Sure
For years, I have recommended that everyone reserve the dot com that corresponds with their name. The first thing my husband and I did after deciding on names for our children was to reserve their names online. If the name was not available online, we ditched the name.
I was quoted on the topic in WorkWise, a syndicated newspaper column. The article is written by Mildred Culp, who does not own mildredculp.com. (Mildred, are you listening?)
An article in today's New York Times discusses the topic. They forgot to ask for my input. But everyone makes mistakes.
Owning yourname.com is essential no matter who you are, and especially if you are a small business owner.
Here's where I go to reserve my domains. Now get out your credit card and go buy yourself!
If you enjoyed this business branding tip, to subscribe to my blog feed to get more!
This is the third in a series of posts inspired by my post about how blogging on a schedule can help keep blogging quick and painless. I posted an "interview" post on Monday and a "holiday/current events" post yesterday. I suggested a "new product or service post" on Wednesdays. But here's the thing. It's your blog, so you can change your schedule whenever you feel like it.
In my first law firm job, my goal was to become one of the first woman partners in the firm. My mentors advised me that, one of the things I needed to do to achieve that goal was to dress like a woman partner. In other words, appear to be what I wanted to be, in order to become what I wanted to be.
I thought of this when a recent article in my local paper reported on how presidential candidate Barack Obama uses technology to pursue his goal of becoming the next president of the United States. For example, on January 28, 2008, within a few minutes of President Bush's final state of the union address, Obama recorded a video response. The press was not there, no press releases were issued and there was no media frenzy to find out what Obama thought about Bush's speech.
No matter, because within minutes of recording the video, Obama's team loaded it to the campaign's YouTube page. To date, it has enjoyed 1,357,302 plays.
Think. About. That.
Barack Obama has millions upon millions of dollars at his disposal. The same technology that's available to him is available to you and your small business.
Do you have a YouTube page? Get one. And become the news you want to be.
If you enjoyed this post, you may also wish to subscribe to my blog feed to receive more great tips on using YouTube and other social media sites to promote your business.
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Branding, Buzz and Business
Using a Publicist to Get Media Attention for Your Small Business
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