Think about it for a minute. How many of us have become better writers because of Copyblogger or blogging from Problogger?

Then there’s SEO. There are so many really good SEO blogs that you could learn the trade and become a professional SEO specialist without any other resources that what you learn in the SEO blogs. At the very least, you can avert hiring an SEO specialist by reading the most popular SEO blog posts and applying their advice.

Should this great content always be free? I don’t think so, myself. I think free can dimish the value of excellent information and effective advice.

I ran into this problem just this past week as I was working on a blog post that was titled 97 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website.

I had spent hours coming up with all these great ideas of how to drive more traffic to your website. Some of them were obvious such as engaging in social networks and publishing articles. Others were not so well know like…

And there begins our crux. You see, if I give away some of best secrets of how I’ve driven traffic to my own website over the years, doesn’t it diminish its value? You may think differently, but I think it does. I think it cheapens the information when there’s not some sort of exchange.

What I ended up doing is taking my list of website traffic generating ideas and moved it offline. I deleted the blog post and figured I just use the resource with my clients. But the list kept growing. Soon I was over 130 than 150 and now I’ve listed more than 180 viable ways to drive traffic to your website.

Obviously there’s tons of value in what I’ve put together. So much that I didn’t want to reserve it only for my clients. Yet publishing it on my blog openly just makes it another in a huge pile of lists that is quickly forgottten for the next set of lists that front page Digg.

So I decided a different route. I created a teleclass around the my traffic generating ideas called 97 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website. And I’m doing the first one next Tuesday for a limited audience of 60 people. And to add value, I’ve created a booklet that not only lists each of the more than 180 techniques for driving traffic to your site, but I’ve addd my commentary to each one with tips so you can use any of them.

To go further, I’m spending 90 minutes in a dialogue with the people on the call so that we can go even deeper into the issues of getting more traffic to your website. Recording the call and offering it to the participants as a download completes the package (there is some space left for you, by the way).

So now I have something that’s taken a good amount of my time and has immense value to me that I can offer as a value proposition to others. The teleclass participants get the value of all my work and the dialogue with me so that they can find the traffic generation methods that best fit them and their business.

In turn, everyone wins. I gain from my efforts. The content wins because it’s valued for the work put into it. And each participant wins by getting the help they need in driving traffic to their site.

This has been a tricky post to write. Sure, I’m promoting a course I’ve designed - no doubt, won’t deny it. And if you’d like to take the teleclass, register before the spots fill up.

At the same time, I’ve wanted to use my experience as the beginning of a discussion around the value of free content. That’s the bottomline point of this post. Are we wasting some of our best content, best ideas and best advice by publishing it free on our blogs all the time? Or is some content valuable enough that it needs to be exchanged for? That’s all a sale is - an exchange.

What do you think?

Barack Obama may have won the presidential debates during five key moments, each of which was viewed hundreds of thousands of times on video-sharing sites on the Internet in the ensuing days, according to an analysis of viewership figures of every video uploaded to the major video sites — including YouTube, DailyMotion, Veoh, MySpace and MetaCafe.

Although users of video sharing websites likely skew younger and more liberal than voters as a whole, … much can be learned about viewer preferences in general by analyzing which moments video watchers zero in on. It’s a technique that doesn’t just work for politics — … the same method accurately predicted the winner of the last American Idol.

YouTube Consumer Insights

Auditude is the company that was able to pull together the data point and chart the spikes (full report can be viewed here.) While I think this is interesting, valuable, and great for politics, this isn’t just about who wins elections or contests on American Idol. YouTube has a simpler but still powerful built-in Hot Spots tool so that you can see your own highs and lows on any video you upload:

Youtube Viewing Trends

If you are selling anything via video, doing video blogging, tutorials, or just about anything, this tool is priceless. It will tell you when you’re losing viewers. And it will tell you when people are responding to your message. While you might not get as much data to play with as Obama and McCain did, just having this data is reason enough to do more with video. And you can use it to predict what content will be most popular, what trends people are most interested in, and where your content might be confusing viewers.

So then you may be asking, What do you mean by that Teresa?
Well, my husband was telling me about this (he has been in business for himself for over 30 years) and that is the reason for this post.

He said, when you cannibalize your business, you are “chewing it up” and helping create a evolution for your business. You find out what is working in your business and what isn’t working. You are finding those places where you can expand, others were you can streamline a process, tasks you can delegate and others you can totally eliminate.

Sometimes you get in your own way just because you are used to doing the same thing and don’t take the time to be sure that a certain task or connection is really aligned with your goals.

And not only that, but perhaps it is just that you aren’t reaching your target market by spending time in a certain place thus just “spinning your wheels” (or as my hubby would say, chewing on food but isn’t doesn’t taste good).

Also, sometimes it is just a matter of being mindful of the new “flavors” of business to be knowledgeable of —possible new services you may be able to add to your arsenal that is what your target market is looking for from you.

5 ways to canibalize your business:

1) Survey your target market - ask your target market questions about what they are struggling with and what resolutions they are searching for

2) Reach out to your target market in different ways-if you haven’t gone to a local networking group in your industry, make a commitment and go.

3) Create a focus group and ask them to go through your processes (website, newsletter, documents) and provide feedback.

4) Find ways to create process improvements, increase productivity, deliver higher quality customer service.

5) Go back to your past and current clients to ask them the areas in their business you may be able to assist them or give them resources.

Rockin' Women in Technology

When I first started this site, it was my goal to inspire women to build businesses from home. Obviously, the site has evolved considerably since then, but that still remains one of my goals. As things have evolved, there have been times when I’ve seriously lost sleep or wanted to check myself into a mental institution. To get through these hard times, I’ve needed my own inspiration - sometimes way more than I let on.

Whenever I have gotten down on my business or on myself, I’ve looked to these women to help me turn things around. Some are dear friends. Some don’t even know I exist. But they all have helped to shape Sparkplugging into what it is today, whether they realize it or not!

Heather Armstrong :: Dooce

Heather’s success in building her website from scratch to one of the most successful blogs on the internet has been an ongoing light at the end of the tunnel for me. I’ve always been so impressed with her ability to take the mundane and make it insanely hilarious and fascinating - especially to those who aren’t mom bloggers. I have to say I’m also impressed with her unapologetic position on her liberal views. Not many women are so comfortable with themselves while risking offending others - which we all know she has done.

Jory Des Jardins, Lisa Stone and Elisa Camahort :: BlogHer

BlogHer is one model for building an empire that eclipses all others in my mind. I’ve watched these women grow their grassroots community into the biggest powerhouse company for women in blogging. Knowing how hard it has been for me at times only makes me respect them more. And just when I think they couldn’t possibly do much more, they seem to somehow outdo themselves again and again.

Liz Strauss :: Successful Blog

Since Liz lives here in the Chicago area with me, she and I have grown to be close friends. We’ve laughed together, cried together, and I honestly don’t know where I would be today without her. And I’ve watched her with true admiration as she has grown SOBCon to be one of the most important blogging events out there. She’s been a mentor, friend, leader and chief inspirer. I love you Liz.

Erin Kotecki Vest :: Queen of Spain

Erin and I seem to cross paths every time I go to a conference. Even though we’ve been friends for a while, it was this post that officially launched my girl crush on her. But my crush turned into full-out envy when Erin landed her gig with BlogHer as their Political Director and Election ‘08 Producer. And then she got onto CNN at the Democratic National Convention. And THEN she landed an interview with Barack Obama himself:

GREEN. WITH. ENVY. I. TELL. YOU.

Pam Slim :: Escape from Cubicle Nation

Pam has been blogging about entrepreneurship for way longer than I have. I’ve been honored to be in her company in this space. Though we’ve only traded a few emails and tweets on Twitter, I was kind of wonderfully astonished at how much we connected and were able to share in so few words. I don’t even have to read her blog to be inspired by Pam - just the fact that she is out there doing her thing makes me want to be a better person.

Kelly Anderson :: Startup Princess

Kelly and I go back to nearly the beginning of my blogging career. We’ve leaned on each other for advice and support, and have had long conversations in which we’ve really, truly connected. I’m so proud of what she has done with Startup Princess, and have been so impressed with her dedication and determination. Kelly truly serves women in business from the bottom of her heart and I adore that about her. (And here’s a bonus, Gwen Bell, Kelly Anderson and Barbara Jones recently hung out at a Startup Princess event in Salt Lake City. *sigh*)

Barbara Jones :: One2One Network

When I first met Barbara at the BlogHer conference this year, we became fast friends. It’s turned into an amazing working relationship, as Barbara has been working with Epson, who sponsored our amazing group trip to go to BlogWorld in September. But it’s Barbara’s groundedness and brilliance that have truly inspired me - she really gets marketing via social media, and its been more than an honor to work with her!

Laura Fitton :: Pistachio Consulting

Laura is one of those people that is smart as hell - the kind of person that you can sit down, start a conversation with and not realize what the heck happened to the time three hours later. Laura inspires me with both her success and her humility - one of those rare people that make you feel awesome no matter what mood she is in. If there is ONE person you should follow on Twitter, it’s @pistachio.

Laura Mayes, Gabrielle Blair and Laurie Smithwick :: Kirtsy

Somehow every time I run into the Kirtsy chicks, it’s at some crazed moment at a conference so we get about 30 seconds to say hi. But I wish I’d get more time with them, because they just impress the heck out of me. I love what they are doing with Kirtsy, and I think they are going to go very far with it. Plus they just brought on Gwen Bell to grow the business with them, and Gwen gets an honorable mention as another inspiring woman in technology! Anyone who hangs with Gwen does right by me!

Arianna Huffington :: Huffington Post

When I first started blogging, I remember looking at the Empire of Arianna and thinking that I would never, ever be able to ‘get there’ from here. Now, I’m still no Huffington Post, but to be even mentioned in the same post as her was one of the highlights of my blogging career. Although she was one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2006, she’s also a passionate blogger - just like me. Just thinking about that makes me feel bigger than I was 5 minutes ago.

Today I’m pleased to announce that we’ve had such great success with Tracy’s posts that we have created a whole new section of Sparkplugging to feature Business.gov’s Government Resources more prominently. While there is a ton of information on Business.gov, we’ll be specifically featuring the resources for home business owners.

Tracy kicks off her new blog with a great post today on Government Resources for Women Business Owners.

It is unfortunate some companies don’t take the time to really look at these advertising and promotional processes to ensure the important details are in place to help their potential clients to purchase from them.
Be sure you take the time to invest in your promotional and advertising processes to ensure your potential consumers become your clients.

If you are in the healthcare business, this conversation is going to be critical to how you do business in the coming years. If your business is not in the healthcare industry, you could still be effected. How? Well, do you have healthcare? Do you provide healthcare for your employees? This discussion is going to effect and inform healthcare policy as soon as next year, so jump in!

What is the National Dialogue?

In late October, just before a critical presidential election, citizens and stakeholders around the nation will join a unique experiment in 21st century democracy. The National Academy of Public Administration, on behalf of the Federal CIO Council, the Office of Management and Budget, and the General Services Administration, will host an online national dialogue that demonstrates a fundamentally different approach to the work of government.

This national discussion will engage a diverse group of voices in tackling one of the key issues confronting the nation’s health care system: How can we use information technology to improve the way patients interact with the healthcare system, while safeguarding their right to privacy? Participants will have an opportunity to discuss challenges, generate breakthrough ideas, and recommend principles that will be presented to the next Administration.

It has been both a blessing and a curse for both candidates that this election has been the most recorded in history. A blessing, because sites like YouTube have been able to carry their campaign messages to the voters that they have been unable to reach via traditional media. A curse, because both candidates are getting attacked with past words that contradict current positions.

It’s too early to tell if YouTube made or broke the election for either candidate’s bid for the white house. But I can guarantee you that YouTube made or broke millions of independent votes for both of them. Highlights of campaigns like the “Joe the Plumber Moment” or the “Colin Powell Moment” spread rapidly within minutes via email, Facebook and of course Twitter.

But the real fascinating story thus far is how the Presidential campaign turned the tables on social media and changed the way we used it - most of all via Twitter. Whether you love Obama or hate him, I believe this was one of the most brilliant moves his campaign made:

Thinking we’re only one signature away from ending the war in Iraq. Learn more at http://www.barackobama.com. 2:04 PM Apr 29th, 2007 from web.

- Barack Obama’s first post to Twitter

By being such an early adopter of Twitter, Obama forced his opponent, his fans, and even mainstream media to pay attention to this little tech startup based on the simplicity of sending 140 character messages to your friends.

Election 2008 on Twitter

Twitter can now be found being incorporated into live broadcasts from CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News. CurrentTV broadcast all of the debates with a stream of live Twitter commentary captions beneath the candidates. And now if I want the absolute latest news on the campaign, I know I will find it on Election.Twitter.com before I will find it anywhere else.

I honestly think that Twitter is now on the way to becoming a part of all of our everyday lives.

Obama & McCain Battle for the Small Business Vote Barack Obama’s Small Business Plans John McCain’s Small Business Plans

The Brilliance of Campaigning Via Twitter

To make this relevant for business owners, the use of social media and Twitter in this campaign was a strategic and brilliant marketing move straight out of Seth Godin’s book Unleashing the Ideavirus. Based on the premise that in order to induce a viral response to your campaign, one must first sell the idea to the “Sneezers”. Sneezers are at the core of any ideavirus. Sneezers are the ones who when they tell ten or twenty or 100 people–people believe them. Obama found his sneezers on Twitter. And McCain has now, too.

Step By Step, Here’s how Seth Godin’s Ideavirus Tactics Work

· Make it virusworthy.

If it’s not worth talking about, it won’t get talked about.

· Identify the hive [Target Market].

You won’t get the full benefit of the ideavirus until you dominate your hive.

· Expose the idea.

Expose it to the right people, and do whatever you need to do to get those people deep into the experience of the idea as quickly as possible.

· Figure out what you want the sneezers to say.

You’ve got to decide what you want the sneezers to say to the population. If you don’t decide, either they’ll decide for you and say something less than optimal, or they won’t even bother to spend the time.

· Give the sneezers the tools they need to spread the virus.

After you’ve got a potential sneezer, make it easy for him to spread the idea. Give him a way to send your idea to someone else with one click.

· Once the consumer has volunteered his attention, get permission.

The goal of the ideavirus marketer is to use the virus to get attention, then to build a more reliable, permanent chain of communication so that further enhancements and new viruses can be launched faster and more effectively, under your control this time.

· Amaze your audience so that they will reinforce the virus and keep it growing.

Why do some viruses burn out more quickly than others? The simplest reason is that marketers get greedy and forget that a short-term virus is not the end of the process, it’s the beginning. By nurturing the attention you receive, you can build a self reinforcing virus that lasts and lasts and benefits all involved.

Whether or not either of the candidates’ Twitter strategy works to get him into the white house is yet to be determined. But it did work to change the rules of the game - and no presidential election will be the same again.

Edited to add side note: A story came up today about the McCain campaign’s frustration with blogging coverage of the election:

“[The McCain campaign has] become to be rather disdainful of the hyper-blogging that takes place on the press bus, and they think it has increased this mind-set of “gotcha” journalism, where every time John McCain would say something, instead of asking a follow-up question, people would go scurry off to their laptops and post to their blogs. And the McCain campaign believes that’s not what journalism ought to be.”

I agree that the immediacy of reporting via blogging is changing the dynamics of campaign coverage. Stories are indeed breaking faster and over shorter periods of time as blogs break news. And it brings up the old argument of the fuzzy (extinct?) line between mainstream media and blogs.

I guess the question is that if blogging is not going away (which it isn’t), what, if anything, should bloggers and candidates do about it?

Echo-Sign - I found out about this from my online business manager, Jennifer Smith of Eco-Office Gals. This program allows you to fax a document via email and receive e-signatures. The program is free for up to 5 documents per month. After that, the cost is $12.95 per month for unlimited documents. Each party receives a PDF copy of the document that can be stored on your computer.
This service allows the confidentiality and legality of your business documents to stay in tact, while helping reduce unnecessary paper usage.
Follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ecoofficegals

Free Conference Call – This program I found out about from (New Media Mavens) Alison Woo and Lena Claxton, authors of How to Say it! Marketing with New Media.
They also offer many other great services such as simple toll free, simple voice box, international conferencing and simple event.

Audacity - I was reintroduced to this program by Alison and Lena. Audacity™ is a free downloadable software to take care of your recording and editing needs. It works with Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems
You can do so many things with this program:
• Record on air audio
• Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs. (I didn’t even realize you could do this)
• Edit various versions (such as MP3, WAV or AIFF) sound files.
• Cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together.
• Change the speed or pitch of a recording.
You can read more here at their list of features.

About Free Software (this is from Audacity’s site and I wanted to share it with you). Audacity is free software, developed by a group of volunteers and distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). Free software is not just free of cost (like “free beer”). It is free as in freedom (like “free speech”). Free software gives you the freedom to use a program, study how it works, improve it and share it with others. For more information, visit the Free Software Foundation.

Color Cop
Color Cop comes with a built-in color picker, color preview screen, an (one of my favorite features) eyedropper to choose colors from anywhere on the screen. The eyedropper feature allows you to take a color you find and it will give you the “code” so you can use it on your site if you want.

Inside Area codes – During a interview on Beverly Mahone’s internet radio show, Passions, I found out about inside area codes and the different networks located throughout the United States. The idea of inside areas codes is to help develop micro business networks within certain area codes. The first one to take off was inside919 (Beverly’s area) in NC. Other networks are catching up each day. So check this out if you would like to expand your local networking efforts.

Full calendar – This little gem I just found out about yesterday from Donna Gunter on Twitter. Full Calendar is a event promotion service for some major metro areas such as New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston and part of California.
Now, I found this pretty darn fascinating because you can choose to categorize how you wish your event to be focused…by city, by type, or by name. I am so bummed because they don’t have Tampa listed as a metro city.
You can follow Donna on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/donnagunter

For me, Twitter has been one of the most beneficial connecting tools on the internet. It provides me the opportunity to find out about news, resources, tips and events quickly and efficiently. This post was about sharing a few business resources I received from just a few people I connect with on Twitter.
If you wish to follow me on Twitter, you can find me at http://www.twitter.com/teresamorrow. Tweet with you soon!

Sparkplugging is up for a spot in StartupNation’s Top 100 Home Based Business Awards, celebrating America’s most outstanding home based businesses and the people behind them. We sure would love it if you could give Sparkplugging a vote and leave a comment about what we might have done to help your home business grow. Voting ends this Friday and winners will be announced in mid November!

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Network Solutions is holding a video conference today called Solution Stars, online marketing tips from a slew of experts! This is a free event starting today at 1:00pm Eastern and they are covering:

• Building Web Presence
• The Social Opportunity
• Start with Listening
• Strategy Drives Outreach
• You Need Social Networks
• To Blog or Not to Blog
• Visibility Through Search
• Rising Above the Noise
• Time Demands

I’ll be speaking in the video portion along with some amazing people like:

• Tim Ferriss, Best Selling Author of Four Hour Work Week
• Guy Kawasaki, Co-Founder, All-Top
• Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos
• Darren Rowse, Author, ProBlogger
• Chris Brogan, Vice President of Strategy, CrossTech Media
• Rohit Bhargava, Author of Personality Not Included
• Wendy Piersall, CEO of Sparkplugging.com
• Lionel Menchaca, Chief Blogger, Dell
• Brian Solis, Author of PR 2.0, CEO of FutureWorks (FutureWorks)
• Liz Strauss, Social Web Strategist, Successful Blog
• Toby Bloomberg, CEO, Bloomberg Marketing

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Business.gov has released a new search tool for Federal and Local Loans, Grants and Financing. I was really impressed with the information there, especially considering they plan on adding more information to it over the next few months!

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Is the election stressing you out? I’m sure feeling it. If you’re suffering from Election Obsession, here’s some tips to cool your heels until next Tuesday.

Within the realm of online business support professionals, the need is climbing at a rapid rate each month.  When business owners get to the point they can’t do it all or even more so, they don’t want to do it all, they turn to hiring someone to help them grow their business.

During the search, business owners should be thinking about looking for someone not just to do the obvious administrative tasks, but add to your team someone who will be more proactive in the way of an Online Business Manager. An online business manager will be able to handle many aspects of your business for you so you can focus on the targeted tasks. You will be able to have someone by your side to work with you on a continuous basis without hiring an employee.

Although Forsyth’s book is somewhat focused to allow virtual assistants and support professionals to realize how they can increase their service, Becoming an Online Business Manager also assists business owners searching for the right online business manager to help you achieve your business goals.

If you want  to become like a “second brain” for your clients…you should read this book.

If you want someone who will be able to become a “second brain” for your business…you should read this book.

This post is a part of a blog tour.

Yesterday the blog tour stopped by to visit Donna Toothaker at 1st VA
Tomorrow, the blog tour will continue with Tracy Lawton of Office Organization Success & Andy Wibbels of Andy Wibbels.com and author of Blog Wild

Forsyth’s book, Becoming an Online Business Manager Playing a Bigger Game with your Clients (and Yourself), is available for purchase at http://www.becominganobm.com/

Tracy Johnson for Business.gov

In my entry last week I talked about how to get your business registered to work with the Federal government - what forms you need to fill out, registration numbers you need to get, I’s to dot, T’s to cross, etc.

Once those things are done, there are only two more things you’ll need to get to know to get your first government contract: GSA and FedBizOpps.

The GSA Schedule Program

The U.S. General Services Administration runs the GSA Schedule Program. This is a way to provide centralized procurement for the Federal government. Under the GSA Schedules (also referred to as Multiple Award Schedules and Federal Supply Schedules) Program, GSA establishes long-term contracts with commercial companies so it can then provide access to these commercial supplies and products to government agencies.

So, you establish a GSA contract, and GSA connects you with agencies that need your products and services. In theory, the program serves a vetting process - companies that want to do business with the government get their products and services onto the GSA Schedule, which then provides a place where government agencies can go to ensure they’re buying the best quality products and services at the best prices.

While this may or may not actually be the case, the bottom line is that getting onto the GSA Schedule is the lowest cost of entry into the Federal government for any business - particular small businesses.

“The GSA Schedule is designed in part to help small businesses compete head-to-head on a level playing field for government business,” says Bill Gormley, president of Washington Management Group. Mr. Gormley was formerly Assistant Commissioner at GSA, and helped design and build what is today’s GSA Schedule Program. Today, he helps businesses - like yours - get onto the GSA Schedule and better understand the ins and outs of doing business with the government.

Once you establish a GSA Schedule contract, you may find that it provides additional advantages outside the government market. A GSA Schedule Contract number demonstrates that you’re trustworthy to do business with. It’s like a seal of approval from the government; it says a lot.

For more information on GSA Schedules, you can go directly to the GSA Schedules page on the GSA website, or the How to Find Contracting Opportunities page on the SBA’s Business.gov site.

FedBizOpps

Imagine entering a brand new market and starting out with a solid list of leads - of people actually looking for the products and services you offer. That is the beauty of Federal Business Opportunities, or FedBizOpps.

All Federal contract solicitations with a value of $25,000 or more are listed on FedBizOpps. Federal agencies publish their solicitations, and provide detailed information on how and when vendors should respond. You do not need to register or sign-up to use FedBizOpps - you can simply go and look around.

Good Start

There is obviously a lot more information you can gather about doing business with the government. Business.gov, for example, provides information on:

• labor and employment laws as they apply to Federal contractors
• teaming and subcontracting opportunities
• Federal acquisitions regulations and standards

Companies that specialize in government contracting, such as the Washington Management Group, are excellent resources as well.

And, conveniently, this is an excellent time to start the process. With a new administration on the way, “transition teams” will be looking for a range of products and services to put in place for the new leadership.

More posts on landing Federal contract work:

How Small Businesses Can Get Government Contracts Part I: Getting Started

Tap into the Biggest Spender :: Doing Business with the Federal Government.

On Monday, Beverly had a lady named Olalah (pronounced O-la-la) Njenga (pronounced jan gah) from Marketing with Ease to talk about marketing in the current economic times.

I wanted to share with you one of the things that I learned from this show.

Olalah expressed her definitions between connections and contacts. She mentioned that she gets people who frequently disagree with her on this point and at first, I thought it sounded a bit backwards myself.

She said that contacts are those people who you may have talked to or met once and you know each other but not well. A connection is a person who you have a mutual solid relationship (more so as a friendship) with and a person you can count on as a resource.

Here is the Wikipedia definition of social contact : A person known to an individual, possibly on a different basis than friendship

and here is the Wikipedia definition of social connectedness refers to the duration of a relationship. It continues to discuss about the quality and/or the number of connections with family, friends.

Here is one way to think about it:

My librarian is a contact.
My website designer is a connection.

Now, I would like to go further to say that a contact can become a connection over time, if that is something you wish to happen. And as I even look back at the librarian being a contact, I want to say, that would be a possibly fantastic as a connection–you know most libraries have workshops, classes and event that could be beneficial to your business.

3 ways to turn a contact into a connection:
1) Find mutual ground between you and your contact. And produce a win win joint venture with your contact.
2) Be a referral resource for your contact. Bring others to your contact to bring in sales for your contact.
3) Become a go to person for your contact. Always provide value for your contact.

And now, I want to ask you—what do you feel about these definitions regarding connections vs. contacts? Do you have others ideas on how a contact can be a connection?

I don’t buy that this election or anything that happens in Washington is really don’t have that much effect on my daily life. Sure, taxes will go up then things will cost more. And I think that’s going to happen regardless. You see, no one is really talking about are inflated dollar, are inflated home prices, and are inflated markets. Since our dollar and our prices are all inflated I expected a correction. And that’s what I think we are seeing with our current economic crisis.

So I’ll watch the larger markets. But truthfully they’re my secondary concern. The market that most matters to me — the market that I’m most focused on — is my niche market.

For me, it’s more important to focus on what I can do to increase my quality of life, pay my bills, and put food on the table for my family. In all reality, I have little control over whether my corporate tax is 36% or 39%. Either one of these is way too high. As Brad Shorr suggests our corporate tax rates are “already uncompetitive on a global basis, and it’s costing us growth and jobs now.”

So I’m not looking for the political process to help my business. Instead, I’m looking for me to help my business; doing so by refining my efforts to position myself effectively within my niche market. Regardless of the economy, solo business owners, service providers and the most small businesses need many of the services we provide. And even an economic downturn many businesses will still continue to do well. So my goal as a business owner and a marketer is to position myself in those business sectors that are still doing well and help them solve the problems they still face within the business.

In other words, I’m being responsible for the health of my business. I’m planning for tight economic times by being even more focused with my marketing. And I’m advising that all of my clients who run service-based companies do the same thing. Not out of fear but out of opportunity. Because it’s in an economic downturn that competition wanes due to the large number of small businesses who will shut down.

Knowing this you can position a business not only to survive but thrive during such times. And even if I’m wrong and we are not heading toward an economic downturn, a recession, or as some are saying even a depression, it is still a good exercise to refine your businesses purpose, positioning and marketing.

So, in a nutshell, I’m looking at myself to solve any financial problems in my life and in my business rather than waiting for a politicians in Washington or investors in New York to solve them for me. What will you do?

Tracy Johnson for Business.gov

The U.S. government is the largest consumer in the country, spending nearly $589 billion each fiscal year on contracts. The government is also an omnivorous consumer, spending that money on everything from office furniture to food services to medical personnel to highly advanced technologies.

For an entrepreneur or small-business owner, the thought of entering such a large market with potentially complex rules and regulations may be too daunting.

My advice: Don’t let that fear get the better of you. It is well worth whatever time you invest. Remember - regardless of whether we’re in an up economy or a down economy, the government still must run. The government will not go out of business. The government can be your customer for life.

In fact, as a small business you have an advantage over other businesses when working with the government. The Federal government has set a goal that at least 23 percent of Federal dollars go to small businesses. Government agencies get “small business credits” for contracting with small businesses.

In the government market, being a small business can provide a significant competitive advantage.

Step One: Education

Before making any changes to your business model, read up - get educated on the government market in general. The Small Business Administration’s Business.gov provides a one-stop-shop of information on doing business with the government within its “Small Business Guide to Federal Contracting” pages.

Another comprehensive source is an eight-page downloadable guide, provided by the SBA, titled “Opening Doors to Federal Government Contracting Opportunities“. This guide debunks myths and provides real-world advice on how to get started selling your goods and services into the Federal government.

SBA also provides a free on-line course titled: “Business Opportunities: A Guide to Winning Federal Contracts“. You’ll have to register for this course, but it will be worth the time invested.

Beyond basic information, the Business.gov site also provides guidance and program information for women-owned, veteran-owned, and small and disadvantaged businesses. Fitting within one of these categories provides additional business advantages beyond simply being a small business.

Step Two: Registration

Once you’ve done your homework, the next step is the proverbial paperwork - registering your business as a potential Federal contractor. The Federal government must buy goods and services from only those companies that are officially registered as Federal contractors. There is no harm, or commitment, in registering. It simply opens the door between your company and the government.

One of the best places to get step-by-step registration instructions is the How to Register as a Federal Contractor page on the Business.gov site. Here, you’ll find you must:

1.      Obtain a D-U-N-S number: A Dun & Bradstreet D-U-N-S Number is a unique nine-digit identification number for each physical location of your business. Getting a D-U-N-S number is free for businesses interested in working with the Federal government for contracts or grants. This process is as simple as going to the Online Web Form Process page, which directs you to an online form and also provides a phone number, if you prefer to work with an actual person.

2.      Register your business with CCR: Once you’ve gotten your D-U-N-S Number, you must register your business with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR). This is simply a database of companies working with the Federal government. Your company must be in this database in order to do business with the government.

3.      Fill out the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA). Here is where you provide additional information about your company and its business activities (what you sell, how you sell it, etc.)

Step Three: Getting in the Game

Once you’ve gotten through all the forms and registrations, you are - technically - able to do business with the government.

In my next entry, “Government Contracting Part II: Getting Government Business”, I’ll cover the two most important steps in actually getting your first Federal government customer: Getting onto the GSA Schedule, and finding your way to FedBizOpps.

Stay tuned … and in the meantime, read my post Tap into the Biggest Spender :: Doing Business with the Federal Government.

Obama & McCain Battle for
the Small Business Vote

Barack Obama’s Plans

John McCain’s Plans

Sound Off!
What do you care about the most as a small business owner?

You might be surprised as a regular reader to know that I am a closeted political junkie. I hide my strong opinions pretty well around here. But one of the things I have been watching extremely closely as the election heats up is how each candidate approaches helping small businesses. And how both of them are using their campaign promises to small businesses as a way to sway voters. (This whole Joe the Plumber thing is completely out of control!)

I have to say that I think both McCain and Obama tend to focus on ‘Small Businesses’ as those companies that have ‘less than 100 employees’. We can agree to disagree if we have to, but that is not a small business to me. I consider a business small if it has less than 10 employees, maybe 15. Not independent contractors, but actual employees. And while those bigger ’small’ businesses are critical to the health of our economy as they lead job creation, it also means that the ‘rest of us’ these tiny businesses, tend to get a little lost in the crowd. And that’s short-sighted, because single-person businesses bring in over $951 billion (US) in annual receipts or sales to the U.S. economy (source).

In other words - we single business owners are the ‘long tail’ of the US business economy.

In case you were getting scared with where I am going with this, I am not going to ask you who you are voting for. And I’m not going to tell you who I am voting for (though I haven’t hidden it well elsewhere online ).

I want to know what issues that you are facing in your business that is influencing your vote this November 4th.

• Are you concerned or not concerned about being taxed at earnings above $250K?
• Do you fear that taxes will limit your business growth?
• Are other economic factors affecting your business?
• Would a vote for either candidate benefit your customers or clients better?
• Do you think that a tax break for the middle class would boost your business?
• Is getting good health care an issue, or does your spouse get health care through their employer?

Please speak out!

Joe the Freelancer, Jane the Writer and Wendy the Professional Blogger want to know.

PS - Just be nice - you all know how scared I get about being mean in the comments around here. I’ll delete you if you personally attack anyone - please stick to the issues.

OR alternatively, you can skip the election and just vote WITH Joe - as in a cup of Joe.

• Gift cards- With the vast amount of items an business owners or entrepreneur needs to keep a business running (from pens and pencils to computer software and hardware). Giving gift cards allow the entrepreneur to focus the money you are providing on the gift card to purchase what they really need for their business at the time. Some ideas: Staples, Office Depot, Microsoft, Best Buy, Home Depot.

• Headset with Microphone – If you are a person who networks at online web or teleconferences, a headset with microphone is an valuable tool . This headset allows you to communicate easily with the other attendees in the web conference room or on the phone A headset with microphone can be purchased at Radio Shack or office supply store for under $25.

• Industry Memberships – For entrepreneurs or small business owners, gathering new ideas and being current on the latest products and services is helpful. There are many great online community and membership sites. You can surprise your team members, friends or family with a new membership to an industry specific membership site.

• Business Books or Magazines – Reading is one of the vital ongoing tasks all business owners can do to help grow & stimulate their business. Be aware of books or magazines your clients and team members are interested in and purchase one of their favorite books or a year magazine subscription. Some ideas: Inc., Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Consumer Reports, Pink, Working Mother.

• Self care items – As business owners you work countless hours to get your ideas out their to your target market. When you are giving gifts for this holiday season, be sure to remember to remind your customers or clients about taking care of themselves. By you sending these types of items, it will bring a smile to their face because it is a bit more personal. Some ideas: Gift basket with green tea w/ mug, lotion and soaps, candles and holder, spa day gift certificate.

• Recorder – There are many times (well for me) when I get a fresh idea for my next blog post, article or project and don’t have a piece of paper handy. A recorder is great to have in your car so when those great ideas or reminders come into your head, you just pick it up and record the ideas. Once you return to your office, you replay the tape and start typing the idea to keep in your computer. This way you don’t have an excuse for forgetting your great ideas. These can be found at places like Staples or Office Depot for about thirty dollars.

When you are selfless and give someone else a gift, you will find it will make you happier than the receiver of your gift. For entrepreneurs and small business owners, it seems like the list of items needed to maintain a business increases. Remember that every day is a good day to give a gift to someone who needs it.