Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS).
SOS is a serious problem, particularly for online entrepreneurs. Here’s the general definition from Karen Greenstreet: “It’s not quite ADD/ADHD. It’s more that a new idea captures your imagination and attention in such a way that you get distracted from the bigger picture and go off in tangents instead of remaining focused on the goal.”
Why is this so common for new bloggers? It’s a combination of two things Sadly, many of us fall victim to this Read the rest here: http://www.problogger.net/archives/2011/05/31/is-%E2%80%9Cooh-shiny%E2%80%9D-...
Sadly, many of us fall victim to this. How do you stay focused?
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
“Is “Ooh, Shiny!” Destroying Your Blog?”
Friday, May 20, 2011
MicroMentor: How it Works
Be a Mentor
Step 1: Sign Up & Create Your Mentor Profile
Your Mentor Profile describes your business expertise.
View a sample Mentor Profile »Step 2: Offer Your Help to Individual Entrepreneurs
Our connection tools help you find targeted mentoring opportunities that match your business expertise and industry experience. Send a Mentoring Offer to entrepreneurs who look like a good fit.
Step 3: Connect with Your Mentee
Entrepreneurs have two weeks to respond to your offer. Once they accept, we will exchange contact information via email and you can start working with your mentee. We will check in with you regularly to ask for your feedback and to offer support.
Why Join MicroMentor?
Convenient, Skills-Based Business Volunteering: Build your professional skills and directly support local small business owners. Our tools make getting started quick and easy, and no in-person meetings are required
I feel like I can make more of an impact, and it’s more meaningful to me because it’s based on a relationship and I can see the long-term results from what I’m doing.
Erika, Sr. Project Manager at GlaxoSmithKline and MicroMentor Mentor
via micromentor.org
Excellent option to find a mentor...
The Ultimate Small Business Twitter List
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Small Business Advice January 20, 2009 By Anita Campbell
Twitter, which allows you to broadcast text messages up to 140 characters in length, is fast becoming the place where a lot of information is being shared online.
I’m finding it to be an excellent source of information by, about and for small businesses.
So I set out to create a list of the people and organizations to consider following on Twitter if you want to keep your finger on the pulse of small businesses. In other words, who are the people on Twitter who regularly provide information by, about and for small businesses?
Sadly, I took on an impossible task. There are so many talented people to follow on Twitter who regularly address small business issues, that every time I look at this list I smack my forehead and say “oh, no, I have forgotten so-and-so!” Plus, I have received great suggestions along the way from Joel Libava, Denise O’Berry, Matt McGee and Jonathan Fields (thank you!).
Consequently, the list just keeps getting longer. Still, I think you may find it valuable, however incomplete but lengthy it is.
If you see omissions from this list (quite likely) please include suggestions below in the comments. I will keep adding your suggestions to this list as we go along. Here’s the small business Twitter list in alphabetical order by name — add them to your list of folks you follow on Twitter:
- Aaron Wall, SEOBook.com – @aaronwall
- Alex Bellinger, Smallbizpod – @smallbiztweets
- Andy Beal, AndyBeal.com – @andybeal
- Andy Sernovitz, DamnIWish.com – @sernovitz
- Ann Handley, MarketingProfs – @marketingprofs
- Anita Campbell, Smallbiztrends.com – @smallbiztrends
- Barbara Rozgonyi, Wired PR Works – @wiredprworks
- Barry Moltz, BarryMoltz.com – @barrymoltz
- Batchblue.com – @batchblue
- BeckyMcCray, Small Biz Survival – @BeckyMcCray
- BrentLeary, BrentLeary.com – @BrentLeary
- Brian Clark, Copyblogger – @copyblogger
- BrianMoran, SmallbusinessEdge.com – @BrianMoran
- Cameron Herold, BackPocketCOO.com – @CameronHerold
- Carrie Hill, Search Engine Watch – @CarrieHill
- Chaitanya Sagar, P2W2.com – @Chaitanya
- Chris Brogan, ChrisBrogan.com – @ChrisBrogan
- Craig Sutton, BrightWeb Marketing - @craigsutton
- Dan Kehrer, Business.com – @whatworks
- Dan Schawbel, Personal Branding Magazine – @danschawbel
- Darren Rowse, ProBlogger – @problogger
- DawnRiversBaker, MicroEnterprise Journal – @DawnRiversBaker
- Dean Jones – @deanjones
- Denise O’Berry, JustforSmallBusiness.com - @deniseoberry
- Dharmesh Shah, On Startups – @onstartups
- Donna Fenn, Author of Alpha Dogs – @donnafenn
- Donna Maria, Indie Beauty Network – @indiebusiness
- Elisa Camahort, BlogHer – @ElisaC
- Gary Vaynerchuk, WineLibraryTV.com – @garyvee
- Guy Kawasaki, AllTop.com – @guykawasaki
- Hollis Thomases – @hollisthomases
- Ivana Taylor, DIYMarketers – @DIYMarketers
- Jackie Huba, SWOM – @jackiehuba
- Jennifer Laycock, Search Engine Guide – @jenniferlaycock
- Jim Blasingame, SmallbusinessAdvocate.com – @jimblasingame
- Jim Connolly - @jimconnolly
- Jim Kukral, JimKukral.com – @jimkukral
- JoAnn Hinest, PackagingDiva.com – @packagingdiva
- Joe Pulizzi, Junta42 – @juntajoe
- Joel Libava, FranchiseKing – @FranchiseKing
- John Jantsch, DuctTape Marketing – @ducttape
- Jonathan Fields, CareerRenegade.com – @jonathanfields
- Justin French, Social Networking San Diego – @justinrfrench
- Keith Burtis, KeithBurtis.com – @keithburtis
- Kelly King Anderson, StartupPrincess.com – @startupprincess
- Kevin Kelly, KevinKellyUnlimited.com – @kkunlimited
- LaurelDelaney, GlobeTrade – @LaurelDelaney
- Liz Strauss, Successful Blog – @lizstrauss
- Mack Collier, Viral Garden – @MackCollier
- Mark Anderson – @andertoons
- Mark Harbeke, Winning Workplaces – @winningwp
- Matt Cutts, Google – @mattcutts
- Matt McGee, SmallBusinessSEM.com – @mattmcgee
- Matt Rodela, Your Friendly Neighborhood Computer Guy – @YFNCG
- Matthew Ringer, SmallBizBee – @SmallBizBee
- Michael Arrington, TechCrunch – @techcrunch
- Michael Rogers, SBAM.org – @mwrogers
- Mike Morrison, RapidBI – @rapidbi
- MyVenturePad.com – @myventurepad
- Nikki Pilkington – @nikkipilkington
- Norris Krueger, Entrepreneurship! – @entrep_thinking
- Pam Slim, EscapeFromCubicleNation.com – @pamslim
- Ramon Ray, Smallbiztechnology.com – @ramonray
- Rhonda Abrams, The Planning Shop – @RhondaAbrams
- Rieva Lesonsky, AskRieva.com – @Rieva
- Rob McNealy, Startup Story Radio – @RobMcNealy
- Robert Clough, SmallBizAnswers – @smallbizanswers
- Robert Scoble, Scobleizer – @Scobleizer
- Rodney Rumford, TweetBizBook – @tweetbizbook
- Scott Allen, About.com Entrepreneurs Guide – @scottallen
- Shama Hyder, ClickToClient.com – @Shama
- Skip Reardon, Six Disciplines – @sreardon
- SmallBusinessTools.com – @SmallBizTools
- SMBzen – @smbzen
- Spencer Tyler, Work Smart LA – @spencertyler
- Stacy Brice, Assist U – @stacybrice
- Staci Wood, Small Business Trends Radio – @SannWood
- Stefan Topfer, Winweb.com – @stefantopfer
- Steve King, Emergent Research – @smallbizlabs
- Steve Woodruff, Stickyfigure.com - @swoodruff
- Susan Reid, Discover Your Inner Samurai – @susanreid
- Tamar Weinberg, Techipedia.com – @tamar
- Terra Anderson, TerraAnderson.com – @terra111
- Tim Berry, Palo Alto Software – @timberry
- Tim Reid, Tim The Ideas Guy – @timboreid
- WarrenWhitlock – @WarrenWhitlock
- Wendy Piersall, Sparkplugging.com – @eMom
- Yvonne Divita, Windsor Media – @y2vonne
- Zane Safrit, Zanesafrit.com – @zanesafrit
Organizations and Corporate Vendors (and their employees or representatives) that serve the small business market:
- Advanta
Ideablob – @ideablob- American Express OPEN
Danny Urquia – @DannyUrquia- AT&T
OnwardSmallBiz – @OnwardSmallBiz- Better Business Bureau – @bbb_us
- Biz Filings – @bizfilings
- BizUnite – @BizUnite
- BPlans
BPlans Community – @bplans
‘Chelle Parmele – @cparmele- Business.gov – @BusinessDotGov
- BusinessWeek’s Small Biz Staff – @newentrepreneur
- BusinessZone.co.uk — @BusinessZone
- Constant Contact – @ConstantContact
Technical Support – @CTCTHelp- Dell
Dell Small Business – @DellSmallBiz
Kara_atDELL – @Kara_atDELL- Go With ABC – @gowithabc
- HP
Angela LoSasso, HP – @AngelaAtHP
Tac Anderson, HP — @tacanderson- Inc. 5000 – @inc5000
- Infusionsoft - @Infusionsoft
- Intuit
Intuit Community – @intuitcommunity
Intuit Small Business – @intuit
Intuit Payroll – @IntuitPayroll
Kira Wampler, Intuit – @kirasw
Rachel Euretig, Intuit — @rkeuretig
Sharna Brockett, QuickBooks – @SharnQuickBooks- Maine Today – @mainebusiness
- Microsoft
Office Live Gal – @officelivegal
Office Live Girl – @officelivegirl- Network Solutions
Shashi Bellamkonda – @shashib- NFIB – @nfib
- RedWire
RedWire Community – @RedWire
Erin Bury – @erin_bury- Small Biz Expo – @smallbizexpo
- SmallBusiness.com – @smallbusiness
- Virgin Group
Richard Branson – @richardbranson- Washington Post Small Business – @postsmallbiz
Other suggestions for this list? Please leave them in the comments section below.
LAST UPDATE: MARCH 17, 2009
Here's an oldie but a goodie.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
PLR: Do You Use Them On Your Sites?
Often used by internet marketers for content on websites, giveaways to their lists and to create backlinks, PLR - private lable rights products are becoming increasingly popular. You can find PLR packs, PLR Forums and PLR megastores with packs available on any topic imaginable.
If you decide to use PLR on your own sites, you MUST rewrite the pieces. Never post a PLR article exactly as you bought it. After all you want the article posted on your site to be somewhat unique.
Not into internet marketing but you are a good writer? Consider starting your own PLR business where you produce private label rights articles and sell them. There are a couple of ebook courses by successful PLR authors that show you step-by-step how to set up a PLR store and how to find customers for your products. Two of the best PLR writing courses that I highly recommend are Tiffany Dow's PLR ATM and Peg Baron's Become a PLR Writer.
Tiffany Dow sometimes runs PLR specials and for the next 24 hours, she's running a sweet deal. ANY PLR pack in her PLR Mini Mart is on sale for $5.00. To get the $5.00 prices on these you have to follow these instructions.
Go through my link here , figure out what you want to buy (everything is $5 even the $57 packs and if you want packs that are regularly $5, you can get two $5 packs for $5 now during this special).
Next, click on the page called Special at the top of the site,
Buy a voucher for that PLR and you’ll get further instructions on how to download your purchases.
TAGS: PLR, PLR ATM, PLR Writer, Tiffany Dow, Peg Baron
http://marvareads.posterous.com/plr-do-you-use-them-on-your-sitesMonday, May 9, 2011
Travelers turn back to travel agents - The Washington Post
But the work didn’t end once Vaughn and his husband boarded their flight from Los Angeles to Delhi. When their flight from Delhi to Agra to see the Taj Mahal was canceled, Rubin came to the rescue. “They would have been on the phone for the next several hours trying to sort out what to do,” he said.
Instead, they went sightseeing while Rubin’s local contacts did the sorting. By the time the couple returned to their hotel, their bags had been packed and loaded into a car, and a driver whisked them off to Agra.
The irony, Vaughn said, is that Rubin had initially tried to get them to drive to Agra rather than fly, but they hadn’t taken his advice. “Ultimately, he was right,” said Vaughn, a public-affairs consultant. “Seeing a camel going through a toll booth on a highway is not something you get to see while you’re flying.”
For years, it looked as though the travel agent had gone the way of the milkman. As online booking sites such as Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity and others soared in popularity, travel agents became the butt of jokes. A scene from a “30 Rock” episode this season said it all. Desperate at the prospect of losing her writing job, Liz Lemon is invited to live in a subway tunnel with people whose occupations have become irrelevant: an American auto worker, a rock band saxophonist, the CEO of Friendster — and a travel agent.
But the travel agent has been given a reprieve. That’s because many vacations have become as hard to plan as the name of last year’s traveler-stranding Icelandic volcano was to pronounce. Natural disasters cause flight cancellations. Revolutions put tourist destinations off-limits. Airlines and rental car agencies confound with ever-increasing fees. And the Internet spews so much information that it manages to hurt consumers as much as it helps them.
Travelers are starting to need vacations from planning their vacations.
“Not only are customers confused and frustrated by new airline fees and events, but they are bombarded by social media,” said John Clifford, president of the luxury travel consultancy InternationalTravelManagement.com. “Everyone is trying to tell you where you should stay, where you should eat, what you should do.”
A study by Forrester Research found that the number of leisure travelers who enjoyed using the Web to plan and book their vacations dropped from 53 percent in 2007 to 47 percent in 2010. And in an American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) survey, 44 percent of agents said that they had more clients in 2010 than they’d had the previous year, with the strongest rebound in rail and hotel reservations.
Travelers “don’t have hours to spend on research to compare multiple flights, multiple cruises, multiple packages,” said Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst at Forrester Research. “It’s not unlike doing your taxes. Depending on who you are, what your priorities are, there are some people who will choose to do it themselves or to use a professional.”
The More Clients Blog: There's No Hovering
There's No Hovering
By Robert Middleton - Action Plan Marketing
I was talking to someone about their marketing recently and what she told me, in essence, was that she was okay with where she was in her business. No, she wasn't happy with her clients or the kind of projects she was doing, but at least she was making good money.
She was hovering.
One of my favorite business sayings is: "You're either moving forward or you're moving backward; there's no hovering!"
We think of hovering as maintaining the status quo in our businesses, keeping on doing the same thing, not taking risks and hoping for the best. At least you're surviving. Right?
Wrong.
A great reminder to be constantly proactive although being reactive is also important too.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Meyers Killing it and serving "the donald" at the WHPCP 2011
| http://youtu.be/7YGITlxfT6s?hd=1 Tags: White house press corp dinner, donald trump, Seth Meyers |
Donald Trump being "served" by the President-- Obama.
I loved every minute of this! http://youtu.be/k8TwRmX6zs4 "Donald Trump said that he was running for president as a Republican. That's funny because I thought he was running as a joke." Seth Meyers TAGS: Donald Trump, President Obama, Seth Meyers |
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