http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo Be a Chief Extraordinary Officer in Business & in Life Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:56:24 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Hey Sparkpluggers - have you seen this? WordPress + Headway 1.5 = eternal website owner bliss. Let me explain. WordPress is a fantastic platform upon which you can build any website - even a professional website. You probably already know this - Sparkplugging itself runs on WordPress, after all. :) And Headway 1.5 is ... http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/headway-wordpress-theme/ Could your home based business use some help? A little jolt to make you jump for joy? We thought so. :) Here it is, all free and all organized. Start clicking! Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on StumbleUpon Share on Delicious Write on your favorite jeans: http://bit.ly/21homebiz How to Start a Home Based Business 10 Signs that ... http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/home-business-resources/ When we think Calendars, we often think our personal calendars, using it to manage our promotional calendar or share with our virtual assistants or project partners. But it doesn't always have to be that 'dry'. Many marketers online use PDF's, videos and audios to get their message out, hope ... http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/5-ways-calendars-can-help-market-your-business/ It has been so many years since I've used Excel. These days, OpenOffice Calc is used exclusively around here. Still, I can't deny there are some pretty cool things about Excel. Not saying Calc is not a good tool, there are just a lot of cool features and ... http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/who-says-spreadsheets-cant-be-sexy/ This is a guest post by Scott Tousignant Would you like to get more done in less time with your work-at-home business so you can spend more time with your family doing the things that you enjoy most in life? Do you often dream of a balanced lifestyle that brings you ... http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/increase-your-productivity-with-home-office-cardio/ Don't you just hate it when someone sends you a file you cannot open? Lately, one of the annoying file formats that has popped up for me is .docx. Thankfully, Gmail does that. I love the fact that I can open most files directly in Gmail without downloading but that's ... http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/tools-to-open-just-about-any-file/ Tonight (Tuesday the 15th) at 9pm I'm kicking off a six week group coaching program that will lead a group of bloggers and new internet marketers through the steps to develop, promote and sell an entry level information product. The program is my 42 Day Launch Incubator.  I created the curriculum ... http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/make-an-information-product-with-me/ If you think "Direct Sales" means "One of Those Home Party Deals" think again. Home parties is only one of a plethora of platforms in which direct sales performs best. Before I proceed, the caveat here is that if youre considering starting a direct sales business or are already in DS, ... http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/home-party-alternatives-for-direct-sellers/ I'm well known for hating on the almighty Mac.  I'm a PC lover from way back when and that will probably never change... so why is Apple making so much headway in my home office? First, I do have an iMac on my desk - used mostly for media consumption.  I ... http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/apple-is-encroaching-on-my-workspace/ Today I am sore as sore can be. I spent most of my weekend filling up a dumpster full of trash, junk, and things I haven't used in over 3 years. By the end of the day, I was downright embarrassed at how much crap we had stuffed away in ... http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/monday-motivation-getting-rid-of-dead-weight/ Everyone of us has sites we visit regularly to reference the information found there. For me, these sites are: Flickr - to search for Creative Commons Licensed images to use on blog posts WordPress.org Codex - to search for code snippets, functions and template tags WordPress forum - to look up solutions ... http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/search-your-favorite-sites-from-the-browser/ With the minuscule sizes of thumb drives also comes a higher risk of losing them. Not one who is normally clumsy or likely to lose things, I have come close to losing my thumb drive a few times. Some days, I think it's not just a matter of if I ... http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/how-to-secure-your-thumb-drive-data/ Today I jumped in on a group coaching call with my dear friend and life coach Marla Tabaka. She asked me to speak to her group on social media marketing. As she introduced me, she started listing all of my accomplishments - being on the Today Show, writing for Entrepreneur.com, ... http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/monday-motivation-internet-fame-aint-all-that/ If there's one thing I learned working around children, it is, you can't expect 100% productivity all the time. Which means, during the times you can give your work your undivided attention, you'll want to squeeze every bit out of every single minute. While I don't see myself as a ... http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/8-tools-for-the-productivity-junkie/ If you're a mom and you're exploring your options for working at home on the internet, you have access to something I really wish I had available to me back in 2002.  It's Totally Free Tuesday and you can think of it is your official 'Orientation Day'. I've got a line ... http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/its-new-wahm-orientation-day-totally-free-tuesday/ Last year I held a virtual swap meet on the WAHM 2.0 blog and opened things up for readers to share what they have available to barter with the focus being on virtual services that they provide and products that they create or sell. Bartering your valuable skills is a fantastic ... http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/sparkplugging-swap-your-labor-weekend/ As usual, my life and schedule bears little resemblance to the rest of the world.  Those who live by corporate time are setting off for the last big holiday weekend of the the summer season, wanting to make the most of every minute before they head back to the office.  ... http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/while-you-enjoy-your-labor-day-weekend-ill-be-working-hard/ This week's Spark an Idea Thursday is About Something You Want So Bad You Can Taste It. I've got a big list myself right now... I want a new laptop, an iphone, a new car and twice the income ;)  (Easy peasie, right?!) Susan wants a new Nikon. Laurie wants a laptop. Traci ... http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/spark-an-idea-thursday-wanting-it-so-bad/ NetBiz.com.com, based in Portland, Oregon, is giving away $1000 in free search engine advertising to one  small business.  All you have to do is ask us your Internet marketing questions! Small business owner, entrepreneur, freelancer, or solopreneur. Regardless of what you call yourself, you're busy managing your business and you don't ... http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/ask-netbiz-answers-your-internet-marketing-questions/ When you choose a web hosting company, you're making a big decision. Many new entrepreneurs make the mistake of choosing based on price alone.  I was guilty of this and it burned me bad in my first year of business.  Fortunately a fellow work at home mom rescued me from 'closed ... http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/win-a-year-of-free-hosting-from-reliable-webs/