Here are a few example ideas I came up with that you can use a shared Google Calendar to help promote your web site or business.

• If you are a speaker, publish a speaking schedule. You are probably already doing that through Google Calendar already. Maybe you are publishing the calendar to your website. If you are, people can also subscribe to the calendar via Google Calendars or iCal. Promote and publish those links too.
• Is your site or blog all about soccer? Create a calendar around the different soccer matches either around the world or the locality that your readers are most interested in. Let them know how they can subscribe to that calendar.
• Maybe your visitors are mostly business people or marketers. How about creating a calendar that shows when quarterly taxes are due, a reminder when to start their holiday marketing planning and when to start promoting? Enter the dates and weeks of holidays and observances they can use for promotions.
• Similarly, if your visitors are moms, how about a calendar with suggestions of places to visit, things to do, seasonal reminders or shopping and menu plans.
• If you are a coach. Create a calendar around a program let’s say, a 60 day organizing program that users can subscribe to and they be reminded or things they need to do each day or each week to help them move along.

Use your imagination. Think of the calendar as a free reminder tool for your visitors. Remember that you can enter a link in Google Calendar entries. This can encourage subscribed users to click through to visit your site, an offer or simply lead people to read old but timely posts.

Don’t think it would work? This is the third year I am creating a calendar for bloggers of the many blogging opportunities throughout the year. It is very popular and I get people asking when it will be updated each year. Great tool to keep you in front of your audience at all times through the year as well. You can get a PDF copy of this calendar as an example for your own project. This year, I will be creating both PDF and a online ‘live’ version using Google Calendar.

Image courtesy of yalcin Eren

Lynette enjoys discovering new ways to use technology or new technologies to use in a business and in turn help her clients apply them. You can find also Lynette at her blog, Twitter and Facebook

The program is my 42 Day Launch Incubator.  I created the curriculum last year, led my first group to great success and then made the whole thing available as a self study course.  The group coaching option is only available two or three times a year and I would love to have you join me for this session.

I know that there are literally hundreds of you reading this who have been thinking hard about creating an info product.  I don’t normally put a lot of pressure on you – but I want to apply some right now – fall is a great time to create a new product.

Maybe you want to create something like…

• A Beginner’s Guide to a Frugal Holiday Season
• Ten Simple Steps to Total Computer Security
• Sixteen Homeschool Science Projects Under $10 Each
• Top Blogging Secrets: How The Pros Get More Readers
• Five Videos You Should Star In This Fall And How It Will Help You Promote Your ________.
• Common Social Media Blunders And How To Come Back From Them
• Web Time Wasters: Tips for Getting More Done Online
• Turning a Wipeout into a Win!
• Top Guest Blogging Strategies For Traffic & Profits

Whatever it is that you’ve been thinking about sharing with others, I can help you chunk up the process and get it done at last.

Come check it out.

A timer – it truly is super weird. For someone who works hard not to be ruled by a punch clock, the timer often helps me focus the most. Not only that, it also helps me track billable hours. Yeah I’m old school like that. While I do have a physical timer – preferred for offline work, I also use a digital and tiny timer on my computer. The best in my humble opinion is a simple, dirt cheap but very functional timer, Egg Timer Plus from Sardine software (love the name). Only $5

Evernote – *sigh* I could write a book about Evernote. It is a web clipper (clip text, images etc from the web), a note taker, a task planner, a recipe organizer – you name it, you can probably find a way to use it for that. To me it’s a huge virtual inbox but that’s nothing new. What I love best about this is, you can capture almost any kind of data from anywhere. From your desktop and directly from your cell phone this is a huge selling point for me. The only thing it doesn’t have is a calendar but it is definitely a 2nd brain.

Filebox eXtender – got tired of clicking and clicking and clicking through folders to find the file I want. If you make a concious effort to notice it, you usually revisit a couple of folders pretty regularly throughout the day, week and month. I wanted a way to quickly jump to these folders which are also contained within many parent folders. Filebox eXtender does that. Love it. Sadly, it is no longer being actively support. There have been some reported issues for some people but they do have a Windows Vista and Windows 7 version. It is free.

QTTabBar – lets you have tabs in Windows Explorer. I have not installed it yet, will definitely install it shortly. Going by my love of tabs on Firefox, QTTabBar may quickly be a must have.

Gmail Labels, Filter and auto Archive feature – The sky will not fall on your head if you don’t read every single email that comes through your inbox. A big volume of our emails are probably not supposed to be acted upon anyhow so just – stuff them. You don’t have to see them but you may need them at some point in the future. Create a label and make sure you check the “Skip inbox” checkbox, mark as read and assign it a label – e.g. Receipts. Then filter all PayPal emails or even emails you get from the ‘Gurus’ or subscription list this way. Let Gmail to that petty work for you.

GridMove - this is one killer app – at least for me. I used to call GridMove the poor (wo)man’s 2nd monitor. Now that I have a 2nd monitor, I find I need it more! It separates your monitor into grids – you can even create your own layouts or download the many contributed by users. When you click on the middle mouse button and drag a window, it will show you the many grids you can drag the window to. It will ’snap’ into place. Eliminating the need to manually resize windows. This is great for working with code and web sites – see the effect of your changes on one side and the code on another. It’s also come in real handy during household budgeting day. I can see my own spreadsheet on one side and the checking account on the other.

A Macro – Feels like Deja Vu. I’ve mentioned this one before Oh yeah! Right here. See, they all tie in together. A Macro does repetitive tasks for you so you don’t have to remember or do it manually. Saving you tons of time. It can launch applications for you, perform certain functions on a schedule and even type for you. Get it. Use it. DirectAccess has saved me 17 hours of typing. How do I know? Because it gives me a neat little chart estimate. It’ probably more than than though because I use it launch programs and open folders, I save the time required to search for the program from a programs list – or the time to find that elusive folder.

A Workflow or system if you prefer to call it that – Some people respond better to mindmaps, some people prefer lists – whichever you decide, using tools like wikis and Bubbl.us and Gliffy help you create a workflow faster and also edit them easier so if there are changes in your workflow, everyone else on your team won’t be stuck with archaic versions.

Yeah, you heard me right.  I’m working hard through the holiday break.  (I’m HUNGRY remember?)

Don’t worry, I’ve got my vacation planned for the following weekend.  I’ll be settling into my lake house with lots of relaxation on the calendar.  (My trusty VA is guarding my calendar to keep it clear.)

I was visiting with my friend and life coach, Aurelia Williams earlier today and shared something pretty exciting.  I’ve already met my goal of earning an extra $1000!  Actually, I made an extra $1200 in just nine days.   That took all of the pressure off of my budget this month and puts me well on the path to my long term goal of doubling my income in nine months.

Some new pressure came to light right on the heels of that as I realized how much I’ll need to put aside for my trip to NAMS in January.  I see that as a good thing – I need to feel the burn to keep my motivated.

I have got a LOT done this past week.  I finished up all of the lessons for my Blog Internship course and got a new group coaching program ready to launch, that’s the 42 Day Launch Incubator.  I’m super geeked about the Incubator.  I’m going to be working with other hungry internet marketers as they create their first (or next) information product in just 42 days.

I interviewed 25+ and selected 12 new interns for the Mom’s Talk Network blogs.  This new group will be getting started after my vacation and I can hardly wait!

It’s been a great week and I plan to make this weekend even more productive.

So you go enjoy your weekend!  I’ll be here if you need me

I’m thrilled to come back and report that I went for it!

I paid a deposit and signed a lease for this great three bedroom house on Otsego Lake.  It’s way cute and sits right on the east shore where it will enjoy all the afternoon sunshine.

The lake house will add significant financial pressure on my monthly budget – so now is where I get ‘Hungry’!

I’m Not The Only Hungry One

On Monday mornings I meet with Mom Masterminds members and other internet marketing women (our meeting is open to the public) for a regular ‘Breakthrough’ session.  This week I declared the theme to be ‘Double the Trouble’ and we talked about wanting to double our incomes.

In Friday’s post I said:

“I know I can make everything I want happen if I want it bad enough. With the right projects and focused attention, anything really is possible.”

After a season of bring pretty laid back about things, I’m working up a sense of urgency and tackling all of my projects with renewed passion.  I’m determined to make every dollar I can, ensuring that I’ll get to enjoy the lake house as much as possible.

In the breakthrough session it became clear that I’m not alone in dreaming bigger dreams and feeling increased levels of pressure about earning a more substantial income.   Again and again, participating members voiced their agreement and excitement about reaching for higher levels.

Our new goals make us remember what it felt like to be new and hungry for success, sparking the idea to claim the title:  ‘The Hungry Women of Internet Marketing‘.  We’re going to be holding each other accountable to our new goals and taking regular action on them over on the Mom Masterminds forum of course.

Several of us have joined Jimmy’s Affiliatenaire course to ramp up our efforts in affiliate marketing and we’re starting up an MMer accountability group right after Labor Day.  We’ll be meeting in my conference room one evening a week to talk over our lessons and brainstorm ways to apply the information.  I’m so excited about that!

You Work Harder When You’re Hungry And When Someone Else Is Watching!

When Mom Masterminds launched back in 2004, we noticed right away that sharing goals and being held accountable for them helped many members to take more action.  That and being able to mastermind with other smart marketers helps you take smarter action

If you’re hungry like we’re hungry, I invite you to join us there!

Maybe many of us are tired of free PDF’s that are just gathering cyberdust on our hard drives not because the information isn’t good, not because it is free but because it’s no longer as ’sexy’ anymore. Maybe we have all ‘grown up’ in the manner we consume and share information online. I’m not saying that PDF’s aren’t good or effective and that we must rush to multi-media delivery. Not at all. What I am saying is, maybe the days of black and white text only PDF’s is going if not already gone. That we need to work harder to present our information with professional design and layouts whether they are in written format or multimedia.

I’m not sure. But I know this.

One of the biggest reasons I love my work is because I see lots of potential in utilizing technology for marketing purposes. It is true that everyone of us reading and contributing to this blog already are doing so to a certain extent. After all, for most of us, our business wouldn’t exist without technology – the Internet. But what I’m talking about is leveraging technology beyond the obvious.

It is my believe, that if you can deliver your freebie in the form of a tool – yes, I am talking about software, games, quizzes, plugins, themes, even Stock photo that people can actually use, interact and experience, free is still very much welcomed and works very, very well.

I can’t imagine commuting such distances for work.   It’s not that I hate driving, it’s more that I resent the time spent doing nothing else.

I’m a late bird and that’s putting it mildly.  Lately I’ve been keeping very odd hours.  I’m incredibly alert and productive in the middle of the night so I’ve been staying up several days a week until dawn. It’s quiet.  Distractions are few and far between.  Temperatures are cooler.

I often make late night munchie runs.  A girl needs brain food, right? Most of the time I’m the only car on the road between my place and the all night gas station – or McDonalds

Tonight though, (this morning) I made my trip right at 5:00am and I was definitely not the only car on the road.  Apparently, five o’clock in the morning is beginning of our community’s commuter rush.

The people look tired, almost like they’re still switched off for the night.

After picking out my power snacks, I paid and drove back to my apartment, kicked of my sandals and un-paused the episode of KyleXY I was watching on Hulu when the urge to snack struck – and felt sort of sorry for all those hitting the highway instead.

Working at home really rocks sometimes, you know?

Coming up with ideas is great, but not all ideas are all that they seem cracked up to be.

Some business ideas are Good.

They involve a specific target market and a much needed product, service or resouce that the market is willing to pay for (or someone else is willing to pay to support – ie: advertise on.)

Some business ideas are Bad.

These ideas are usually too fuzzy on the issue of target market or involve a product that fails to inspire interest.

Some business ideas are Just Plain Ugly.

I’ve come to realize over the last year that there are business ideas that can be made to work by sheer force of will, but that doesn’t mean that they should. Some business projects are just too labor intensive for so little net profit that you end up working for peanuts. I call that Ugly.

Which is Which?

It can be hard to say which ideas are good and which bad. It depends a great deal on who has the idea.

Someone can have a really good idea but lack the skills and experience to make it work. And on the flip side, I’ve seen someone with skills and experience take what looks like a bad idea, sell the heck out of it and make a lot of money.

What about the Ugly ideas? Couldn’t a skilled entrepreneur make anything work? Maybe they could. But they likely won’t since they know there will never be enough profit to be worth their effort.

How do I decide if my idea is good?

You could just run with it and see what happens. There is a lot to be said for learning in the trenches, still – I’m in favor of skipping hard knocks when possible so I’m going to recommend that you seek out other more experienced marketers to bounce your ideas off of before you invest too much time and resources.

I know from experience that I can develop what I think is a brilliant idea on paper. We want our ideas to work and look for ways to make them work. An outsider can usually see the holes in our theories and that’s a good thing. Be open to their constructive criticism. (They’re critiquing the idea – not you.)

Do some quick market research. Hit up Google to see if there are other people doing what you’re thinking about. Don’t be put off by the existence of competition. That should be a positive sign that there is a market for your ideas. If there is a LOT of competition, check out the top sites and ask yourself, “Can I do this at least 10% better than these guys?”

What if I just realized I have a Bad/Ugly Business?

Pat yourself on the back. You’re in good company. I’ve had more than my fair share of ideas gone bad. Some of the richest, most esteemed entrepreneurs in the world have had ideas that crashed and burned. Having a bad idea isn’t the end of the world and having acted on one isn’t the end of your WAH dreams.

Take your bad ideas (or business) back to the drawing board and see how they can be improved. Drop kick any truly ugly ideas to the curb and move on.

It’s called Failing Forward and it works for me

Free samples.  Free teleseminars.  Free newsletters.  Free eBooks.  Free Videos. Free Previews.  Free Tips.  Free Consultations.  Free! Free! Free!

Frankly, it’s all been too much.

I’m sure there’s something good in all of these offers, but I don’t have time to sort through all of them.

Yes, our economy is tough and money is tight.  But has the free line been moved too far?

I don’t have a message in all this.  I’m just asking questions – of myself and of our community.  Do we offer too much for free?

Does the word ‘Free’ have the impact that it used to?

Would love your thoughts.

Learn all about it at the Lemonade Movie.

There’s an old saying that goes “The only certainty is change”; however well you think you’re prepared for something, there’s always a surprise waiting for you.

Take the latest addition to my family – the birth of my 2nd daughter, Elissa, about a month ago.

Since I’d been through this before, you’d think that I’d be prepared for the nights with activities like disrupted sleep, half-groggy feedings (the baby, not me!) and feelings of fatigue midway through the day (a cosy 2-hour afternoon nap helps a great deal).

Add to the mix, fun activities like planning for my kids’ college fund (Never too early to start these days…), registering their respective domains (I own both BiancaWee.com and ElissaWee.com – no content up yet though!) and running the day-to-day operations of an online business.

While I’m no “Jon & Kate Plus 8″, I have been a little busy. Which is why this guest post is coming about 4 months after Kelly invited me to contribute a piece.

Dealing with Organized Chaos

Since I’m a “respectable family man”, the days of pulling all-nighters to complete a product, or staying awake for 48 hours to deal with product launch hiccups should be a thing of the past…or are they?

Stress? What stress?

Even if my “To Do” list contains 10 items for the day and only half of them get done, I don’t get insomnia or stress over it like I used to.

In the sometimes hectic pace of the 24-7-365 internet, it’s sometimes easy to forget the main reason why we’ve chosen the “work from home” route, compared to slogging it out in the corporate trenches.

The thing is, “Personal freedom” and “financial indepedence” are just buzzwords, unless you’re walking the talk, and not just talking the talk.

The key to finding fulfilment in online marketing is finding your personal comfort zone and accepting what you can reasonably do in the time you have each day (which might ultimately be 2-3 hours of solid, productive work – waaaay before everyone gets up, or after everyone has gone to bed).

Here’re some tips to Getting what you want and getting what you need to get done.

#1 Identifying the difference between “optional tasks”, “good to have tasks” and “need to complete tasks”

“Optional Tasks”

An optional task is something you can cut out of your schedule and not miss greatly (or possibly scheduling it for “Veg Out” time). This could be watching a re-run of a 5 DVD boxed set of “Sex and the City” or “Gossip Girl”.

It might also include meeting up or chatting with online/offline casual contacts who would like to “get to know you better”.

Having and using the power to say “No” can be a life saver here. Also, if you’ve scheduled your time in a planner, you’ll have a clear idea of what needs to be done, vs letting others take your time away. (a little harsh, but if someone’s using what little time you may have left, they ARE taking your time away).

#2 Identifying good to have tasks

These are tasks which would be useful to you personally, or professionally. It could involve watching clips on YouTube, reading relevant blogs and forums, and attending conferences, workshops, webinars, teleseminars, etc.

These can almost be as enjoyable as optional tasks, although they can do you or your business good too.

Prioritizing these tasks and deciding which ones to take up can again free up time for other more important activities.

#3 Need to complete tasks

Unfortunately, if you’re new to managing your time effectively, these tasks might be the ones that get shoved to the end of the day when you’re running on fumes and down to your last legs.

A comfy bed looks positively appealing compared to the humdrum review of sales reports, or planning out and implementing tweaks to your business to improve traffic and sales conversions.

These are the tasks that feel the most “work” like and can be repetitive, monotonous and yes, boring.

However, if you look at the reasons why you’ve made the choice to work from home or out of a small office, you’ll also realize that a solid 1-2 hour block of time at the start of the day (I like the 6am timeslot, right after I’ve given my daughter her feed), or at the end of the day, can give your business (whether fledgling or established) a huge boost.

It’s not all work though. “Need to complete” tasks should also include activities that are personally meaninful to you (and sometimes, your sanity!) I’d also include setting aside time to spend with my wife and older daughter each day.

Putting it all together

While some may have a moment of self-realization and attempt to shift ALL their time to “need to complete” activities and experience a burst in productivity, this boost might be short-lived.

If it’s a radical change to your lifestyle over the past couple of years, it could send quite a shock to your system and lead to burnout.

Instead, what’s worked for me is making gradual changes to my schedule that I know I can follow on a long-term basis.

If I fall off the wagon when it comes to following my schedule, I take note of it and keep chugging along.

One of the maxims that’s helped me succeed is Vince Lombardi’s quote “It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get back up.”

There’s certainly no reason to get lost in transition.

Andrew Wee blogs at WhoIsAndrewWee.com and is co-founder of the internet marketing resource, InternetMarketingCookbook.com.

When the economy is down and your target market seems to be holding their dollars tighter than usual, what can solopreneurs do to keep business flowing?

Status Check Your Marketing Funnel.

Make sure that you’re doing all that you can to reach as much of your target market as possible.  I’ve actually seen some entreprenuers pulling back from their usual marketing activities becuase they perceive that their market is cash poor and unlikely to respond.   That’s a mistake.

Yes, your market may be cash poor today – but that can change in a heart beat and who will they spend their dollars with but the person who has remained on their radar most consistently?

When there are fewer fish, the answer is not to cast a smaller net.

Widen the top of your marketing funnel.  Seek more ways to share your knowledge and expertise.  Step up your blogging activities, do more guest blogging, seek out podcast interviews and let folks know that you are open to creative joint ventures.

Do You Have To Lower Prices?

My experience with pricing over the last year has been interesting.  I tripled my rates for blog design and continued to book new clients on a regular basis even as other talented designers complained that they have had to drop prices to keep busy.

If I could ask marketing experts I bet I would get a wide range of answers to price question.  Lower prices can motivate someone on a tight budget but you’ll work harder for every dollar.  (And that just might be the way it is for awhile…)  Before you decide to lower prices, you could invest some time into sharpening your sales message to better convince your customer of their need for your products and services in the first place.

And Wait, There’s More!

One great idea is to add something to your package rather than reduce the price of your package.   Think about all of those great ‘free gift with purchase’ offers that have grabbed your attention in the past.   You could create a special time limited ‘bundle pack’ or offer a ‘buy one, get one’ deal.

I’ve been influenced by dozens of special deals over the years.  I’ve bought products so0ner than planned and hired service providers without a lot of advance planning – all because they presented me with a no brainer situation.

I know there are lots of other great strategies… what tips do you have for overcoming tough times?

So how is Business Blogging like dating?

Let’s start at the beginning.

So you and I established the first reason you’ll want to use a business blog as a marketing tool is to get your business found.

So what’s next…what happens once your business gets found?

Let’s get back to the dating analogy.

So, let’s say you’re SINGLE and you’re at a bar or restaurant enjoying a night out.( Had to put the “single” thing in there but each to their own, right?)

Suddenly, across the room you notice a person who really captures your attention and you’re thinking, “Boy, I’d really like to get to know this person.”

So now you’ve “found” the person…what’s your next move?

Well if you’re like most websites online you’ll walk right up to them and ask he/she to Marry you!

You see, this is exactly what most websites do and it’s absolutely the wrong thing to do by far.

Your prospect finds your business online and when they land on your website you ask them to buy from you right away!

Here’s the thing…nothing gets sold until you first build trust…especially online where everyone is afraid of getting ripped off or scammed!

This is why traditional style websites don’t work and why you’re not making as much money as you should be.

It’s almost impossible to build trust and rapport with your prospects using a traditional style 5 page HTML website.

But with a business blog it’s very easy to do!

In no time at all you can have hundreds if not thousands of web pages published online all acting like little sales people working for your business, positioning you as a leader and expert in your market or niche.

How cool is that?

With a business blog you’re able to write about your business.

You share stories, tips and tricks on how to use your products or services so your prospects get the most out of them.

You also become the expert in your prospects eyes and an authority in your market or niche.

You see selling stuff online is very similar to dating…you find the person and then you build trust and rapport on a few dates.  You get the know the person and find out if they are interesting or if what they have to say is meaningful to you.

I’m thinking when you met your significant other you didn’t walk up to this person and ask them to marry you right?

Probably not….so why are you trying to do this with your website?

Look writing at least two to three blog post a week, each only 300-500 words will do wonders for your business.

Not only will it help your website get found but it will build trust and rapport with your prospects.

Blogging makes you the recognized expert in your industry or niche ESPECIALLY if no one else is doing it!

And in this day and age where folks just love to belly ache about the economy yet do nothing to improve their situation you’ll get the opportunity to be the bright ray of sunshine in YOUR prospects life!

So I’ve laid out the second reason why you MUST use business blogs in your business.

In my next post I’ll talk about what to do with your prospects once they find your website and you start building relationships with them.

You got them there and they are listing…what do you do next?

Check back to find out!

Now get busy, Bill Parlaman

P.S. So let’s hear what you have to say about the second reason why you MUST use business blogs in your business?    I would love to hear from you!

Just post your comments below and I’ll do my best to answer each one!

(The survey is over)

We’ll publish results tomorrow

When it comes to making the leap from employee to full-time entrepreneur, do you follow your heart, your gut or your money?

It’s a hard question and one that I still don’t have the answer for. If it were up to my heart, I would have left my job a week after I started. If I were to follow my gut, I would have left a couple of months ago. It felt right then and still feels right now!

But if I follow the money, well let;s just say at this time I should probably just sit tight. After all my entrepreneur ventures are still no match for my current salary and I have those two growing kids at home to feed.

I decided to enlist some advice on twitter and asked, “When it comes to making the leap from employee to full-time entrepreneur, do you follow your heart, your gut or your money?

Here are some of the responses:

@tracilove:  Follow your heart & trust your gut – but remember that if there’s no $, it’s a hobby (not a biz).

@multitaskingme: Your gut, your heart, your money in that order

@weddingsites: Definitely your heart, it’s just a feeling you get, plus it becomes too much of a struggle juggling multiple jobs and family

@KenClicktoy: Your gut will remind your heart to remember to make money

@chatterboxcgc: Heart and gut definitely! But money is always there in good ways and bad.

@AskWifey: A little bit of all three – smiles!

While I agree that it’s time I follow my gut and heart and move forward, I thought it would be best to develop an exit strategy.

Set a Date: Decide when you would like to makes the transition to running your business full-time and develop a schedule around that date.

Review Finances: Amanda Steinberg from DailyWorth.com says, “If you’re leaving a full-time job, set up a savings account six months before you announce your departure. Commit to adding to it regularly. Save as much as you can. While six months saved in cash is a pipe dream for many of us, it’s a good north star to shoot for.”

Eliminate Debt: You may need to incur more debt as you vamp up your business, so clearing out old debt will give you some wiggle room.

Build Your Credit: Apply for extra credit.  Save those checks that you get in the mail from the bank and those pre-approved loan offers. They will come in handy if need some extra money for business expenses at a later date.

Create Your Vision: Make sure you have a clear vision of what you want to accomplish. Consider getting a business or life coach that can help support you and create a realistic plan.

Talk to Family: Discuss your plans with your family, they make a great support group, so if issues arise you can work them out together.

Networking: Being a full-time entrepreneur may mean spending a lot of time alone. Start connecting with other entrepreneurs by joining support groups on and offline.

Starting a business takes motivation and determination, leaving the security of your full-time job takes courage. To ensure the highest potential of success formulate a plan before making that transition.

For some more great tips, advice and coaching on taking that final step to full-time entrepreneur visit Deborah Bailey’s blog: The Secrets of Success . Deborah is the author of an eBook called “Boost Your Marketing & You Visibility with Internet Radio”. She is also the founder of Deb Bailey Coaching for transitional entrepreneurs and is the host of the weekly Internet radio talk show “Women Entrepreneurs – The Secrets of Success”.

Good luck on making your transition to full-time entrepreneur.

Read more from Stephanie at BizzieMommy.com.

I used to struggle. A lot.

I spent more than a decade suffocating under a burden of debt.  I wore the letters off of my keyboard building my online business – and finally knew the pleasure of being debt free and being able to pay bills on time.  I know what it’s like to build something from scratch, to work hard for little return with an eye for the long game.   I dreamt of a day when things would come easier.

A wise man once told me to plan your work and work your plan.  Stay in the know, make friends and burn only rickety bridges.  Eventually, a good plan develops its own momentum – but take care.  When things start to come easier – you have to be smarter than ever. 

That advice has been ringing in my ears over the past couple of weeks.

Everywhere I turn, there’s another ‘Open Door’.  Offers of partnership from cool people.  Opportunities to go to the next level.  Options for more, new, better this or that…

And not just in my business life.  In my home life as well.

I’m used to limited options.  A single mom in debt can’t get credit from anyone and has a really hard time being approved for things like apartments and satelite dish companies.  Even after paying off my debts, I had to have a co-signer to buy a used car and had to pay a ridiculous deposit to win a chance with a landlord.

I’m not complaining.  I dug that ditch and knew it was my job to fill it back in one heavy shovel full at a time.

Still, it has been a long road.

Then, on a whim this week I filled out an application for a new place – fully expecting the usual rejection… and got accepted.

You could have knocked me over with a feather.  No request for a co-signer.  No extravagant deposits.  No extra hoops to jump through.  Just my own signature.

Don’t plan any housewarming gifts yet – I decided not to go for it.

As exciting as it is to be approached with great projects and as gratifying as it is to know that my credit is starting to heal and I have more freedom to choose… I have decided to stay right where I am for awhile.

I have objectives for this season of my life and business and they haven’t been met yet.  If I power forward and grab all the gusto I can – I’ll most likely find that I’m not fully prepared for it.

Can anyone relate?

“I have been following this blog and a few other WAHM-type blogs for about two months now and I really DO get the concepts – building exposure and relationships, etc. It all makes perfect sense and I can see how, with work, it all comes together.

I am thinking of pursuing a home-based editing business. Purely editing and proofreading.

My question is: Do I have to have a blog?

I’m an excellent writer but I just don’t have that much to say that would be of interest to others. Who wants to read about split infinitives? Besides, I want to edit what others say, not write.”

First of all I want to thank Deidra for her question!

I  hope you guys keep sending your questions in because when they stop– so do these posts.

And remember, the only “dumb” question is the one you DO NOT ask!

Ok so back to your questions….

The first thing you MUST do when starting a business is change your mindset.

You must treat your business like a business and not a hobby!

If you treat your business like a business you’ll earn like a business…if you treat you business like a hobby you’ll earn like a hobby.

Make sense?

So if you are running a business the most important task any business owner can do is Market their business!

Where most business owners go wrong is they think they are in the business of the “thing.”

Deidra, you said you just want to be an editor and proofreader…this is a mistake!

You must be a MARKETER FIRST!

You see as a business owner you’re really in the business of MARKETING the thing, not doing the thing!

Got it?

This is a very important distinction and you MUST wrap your head around this concept right away!

Here’s the thing, even the very best proofreader and editor will go broke without a consistent and predictable system for generating new leads and new business!

What good is it if you are a great editor and proofreader if you can’t find customers or your customers can’t find you? Make sense?

In fact, you can say this about any business… even the best Doctor, Dentist or Lawyer will go broke if they can not generate new leads and new business!

So what does marketing have to do with Blogging?

Well I just happen to believe there is no better way to market your business online than with a business blog.

You see the 4 things you must do when marketing your business online:

• Get Found
• Build trust with your prospects
• Capture leads
• Make the sale

It just so happens a business blog fullfills all of these requirements quite nicely!

So, over the next few blog posts I will cover each of these topics in more detail and hope to show you how important a business blog really is for your online business.
Now get busy, Bill Parlaman

P.S. I’d love to know what’s going on in your mind so let me know what you’re thinking by posting your comments below.

Don’t forget to keep sending in your questions too!

Most Sparkplugging readers are…well, small.  Call it consultant, micro-business, or whatever you like.  Freelancers are small businesses that can benefit from a very small amount of business.  Today I’d like to show you how to snag some highly targeted web traffic that will get you some great business – and it’s something you should be able to accomplish by yourself within a few hours.

My last post was on getting yourself added to the Google Local Business Directory.  Today I want to focus on how to expand that local presence.

What you’ll need:

• A website.
• Access to your website’s code, or at least the back end visual editor.  If you don’t make any changes to your website, you’ll need the person who makes those changes.
• Internet Access

Most freelancers work in competitive niches like writing, real estate, or consulting of some sort.  For this example I want to use the real estate industry to show how you can find buyers.

First, let’s do a little research. Do you know what people who are looking for your goods & services type into search engines?  Google will tell you, for free.  Go to https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal# and use the free keyword tool to get an idea.  Start by typing in what you sell or provide. In this case, I’ll start with ‘Real Estate.’  I get this result.

Notice that at the top it shows me the average number of searches for the terms ‘real estate’ and ‘real estates.’  These are the exact matches for what I was searching for.  The neat thing is that lower down it also gives me a huge list of thing that Google says people also type when searching for real estate.  Wouldn’t you love to be found on the first page of Google when someone searches those things?  The big national real estate franchises like Remax, Coldwell Banker and others certainly love it.

Again, you can do this with any industry. Try it again with ‘counseling,’ ‘copy writing,’ ‘graphic design’ or whatever it is that you do.  The Keyword Tool will generate a list of keywords that relate to your industry.

Now, the next part that I am going to show you really only works for small markets where the competition is not too fierce, but it should work for many of you.  If you live in Los Angeles, NYC, or another major metro, you’ll need to do more than just this, but this is a good start.

Do the search again, but add a geo targeted qualifier to it.  That simply means add a city or zip code.  I picked a small town in Tennessee called Crossville (population 10,433).

Notice that the numbers drop dramatically?  It means its far less competitve.  If you could show up on the first page of 5000+ searches and get around 5 – 10% of those people to click through to your site, would you be happy?  I thought so.

Your next step is store those keywords you want to target.  You can click add next to all of them and it will generate a list on the right which you can then download as a text file or as a .csv (Excel) file.  You can also just write them down if you want to target just the top few.

Now you want to add these keywords to your website.  On your Home, About and Contact page, put in a few sentences about how you are a real estate agent that specializes in the Crossville area, and then rearrange that sentence in a few different ways.  Make sure that each page has different content.  A good example could be:

Cory Huff is a Crossville Real Estate Agent with over 10 years experience helping buyers locate homes for sale in Crossville, Lake Holiday, and Woodlawn.  Located at the intersection of Interstate 40 and State Highway 127, Crossville, Tennessee is a beautiful city that is growing like crazy and we have new real estate deals on beautiful homes and land for sale in the Crossville area.

You know your market, so write for your own customers, but you get the idea.  Google loves this local search stuff, and in a small market this can often be enough to get you the traffic you need.

Further ideas:

• Create a blog that you update once a week with posts about the local real estate market.  Make sure you put these keywords in the title and at the top of the posts.  For example, you might do a blog post about how Obama’s recent tax credits will affect the homes for sale in your current market, and lead with the title, “Homes for Sale under Obama’s Tax Plan.”
• If you’ve added yourself to the Google Local Business Directory, go back and add some of these keywords to your listing in the description and categories sections.
• Get other websites to link to your site using your keywords as the anchor text like I do here with my blog, TheAbundantArtist.com, which contains posts on the best day jobs for actors.

It will take a few weeks to a couple of months for you to start to see results from this work, but it’s well worth it when you start getting phone calls!  Please bookmark this post and come back after you start seeing results, and let us know how it works out for you!

Cory Huff, Sparkplugging.com intern, works as a blogger & social media guy for Netbiz.com, a company focused on search engine marketing for small businesses.  He’s also a trained actor and writes about the intersection of money & art at TheAbundantArtist.com.

“I have been studying up on Internet marketing and how to earn an income online for about four months now. I have done a few things here and there not much. The things I am passionate about are niches that don’t make a lot of money (at least that is what I think). For instance coupons and being frugal, sweepstakes (people who want to get things free) and genealogy! So how do I settle for a niche that I am passionate about that won’t make me a lot of profit or do I find a niche that will be profitable that I don’t love? Hope this isn’t to complicated!”

OK Danielle I think I understand what you’re asking…

You want to know if it’s better to pick a niche you’re passionate about and love and might not make a ton of money over a niche where you could make a nice little chunk of change.

Am I right?

Well this is a little tricky and I’m sure a ton of folks will have an opinion on this one but this is my post so I get to go first!

Here’s my advice to you….What is it you want from you home based business?

Are you looking to make a steady income online and start a business or are you looking for a hobby?

If you are hoping to earn an income from your online adventures I’d suggest finding a niche where you know people are already making money.

Now if you can find a niche  you love and make money that’s a great but not always possible.

For instance, I love drinking beer and watching baseball but I’m pretty sure nobody will send me a check every month to do this, see what I mean?

Now I depend on my online endeavors to pay the bills and put food on the table so I must find paying niches regardless if I love them or not.

It’s great if I am interested in the topic but it’s not necessary.

Again, it can help your be work more fun and enjoyable if you love your niche but I found I got over this pretty quickly as the checks started to roll in.

Here’s another example, I love BBQ!

You know, real southern slow cooked BBQ so I decided to start a paid membership site around BBQ called BBQFreaks.com.

Now there were already a bunch of FREE BBQ websites out there but I thought if I jazzed it up with some interviews and some other cool stuff I’d make a killing….

Boy was I wrong…I soon found folks just don’t spend money on this kind of stuff.

BBQ is more of a blue collar hobby and BBQ enthusiasts spend money on their meat, rubs and sauces….Not website membership sites!

However, I still maintain this site, I made it free for folks to join and I make a couple hundred bucks every month from affiliate commission checks from my Amazon Store.

And now, I focus on niches where I know I can make money!

So hope this helps you with your decision.

So please, I’d love to hear from you and what you think of this topic…Do you pick niches where you can make money or niches you love and are inspired by?

Now get busy, Bill Parlaman

P.S. If you like my Friday Q&A segment where I answer you home based business questions make sure you keep sending them in!

Remember…I depend on you for your questions!

A lot of solo-preneurs have trouble staying focused on one single business idea. If you’re in direct sales, you might start out with Avon, but if the profits are not what you expected, you might decide to jump ship and head for the pinker world of Mary Kay. If that’s not an immediate success, you might think the future isn’t in makeup, it’s in home decor, and off you go to try out Linen World or Southern Living at Home.

Even bloggers like me are not immune from the siren song of a shiny new thing. In fact, we might be even more susceptible. Give me ten bucks and five minutes with a hosting company and I can have a whole site up and running, with only the decorating to be done. Who wouldn’t choose the thrill of a brand new site over the same old same old you’ve been slaving over for the last few months?

The problem is, if you don’t give your baby business–be it a blog or an affiliate site or a Pampered Chef franchise–the time and attention it needs, it will wither and die away, and you’ll be left thinking you’re a failure for not having been successful at it.

Before You Start a Home Business

The best way to keep your focus is to start strong. That means knowing what your focus is before you even begin.

Do your research

Figure out what kind of business you want first, and then get more specific about the details. If you enjoy hosting parties, direct sales might be for you. If you love to write and be social on the Internet, blogging might be your thing. If you’re a wiz at office management you might like to be a Virtual Assistant.

Once you decide on the type of business you want, it’s time to specialize. Direct sales consultants can choose from dozens of opportunities. Whatever your passion is, there’s a product that matches. Bloggers need to choose a niche to blog in, VAs will have to decide what services to offer and to whom.

Write a business plan

Once you’ve decided what you’re going to do, it’s time to work out how you’re going to do it. That’s where a well thought out business plan comes in.

Everyone resists this step, but it really is the key to your success. The real power of a business plan is that it will make you think about exactly what you are doing and why you’re doing it. By working through a sample plan or template and taking the time to think about each section, you will have a much clearer picture of your goals and what you need to do to achieve them.

There are a lot of business plan samples available for free on the Internet. Pick one that most closely matches your business type and revise it accordingly. Unless you’re going to be using your business plan as a means to qualify for a loan, you don’t have to worry about sticking to a strict format or filling out all the cash flow projections and expected income. Just fill in the parts that are relevant to you and your business.

Craft your elevator pitch

An elevator pitch is simply a 30 second explanation of your business. Think of it as your business plan condensed into something that would fit on the back of a business card. Darren Rowse at ProBlogger has a great tutorial about writing an elevator pitch for a blog, but even if you’re not a blogger it’s worth taking a look at.

Most people will tell you to craft an elevator pitch so you have something coherent to say when someone asks you about your business, but I use an elevator pitch in a different way. Whenever I have to make a decision about a new direction to take in my business, a new product to promote, or a new website to start, I can pull out my elevator pitch (and my business plan) and see if the new thing fits in with the old thing. If it fits, great. If not, then I either have to rethink my business, or put the new idea on the “someday” list–the list of things I want to do, but that just don’t work for me right now.

After the Shiny Wears Off

Once you’ve had your business for a while, it’s easy to get distracted by the next new thing that comes along. Here are some ways to spruce up your business and make it “new” again.

• Do a redesign. If you’ve had a blog or a website for a while, boredom can cause you to start thinking about other business ventures. Maybe it’s time for a website redesign. Find a new theme, change up the colors, or even just change the header image. Sometimes all it takes to get excited about a project again is to rearrange the furniture a bit.
• Expand your business. Revisit your business plan and see if there are new markets you can target, new products you can sell, or new techniques you can use to improve your bottom line.
• Branch out. Are there complimentary services you can add to your business? A new product line you can add? Maybe an information product you can write and sell from your blog? Keep in mind that branching out does not equal going off in a completely new direction. You want to make sure that your new branch compliments your current business and doesn’t detract from it.

Keeping your business focused and on target will result in a stronger brand and higher profits. Perhaps even more important, though, is the greater feeling of confidence you’ll have knowing that every business decision you make is well thought out and designed with a clear goal in mind.

Have you ever found yourself losing your business focus? What did you do to get back on track? Let us know in the comments what worked (or didn’t) for you.

Find out more about Cindy Bidar.

Recommended Resource: Kelly McCausey’s The Power of a Focused Business.