Bonny Albo's Blog

Posted by Bonny Albo

I've written a fair amount of business plans throughout my entrepreneurial career, either for my own businesses or for clients who paid me to write one for them. I really enjoy writing business plans too, and have sought out work along this regard for years. Something about seeing a business come into its own in front of my eyes, almost like molding a piece of clay. The nature and details change constantly, ever evolving to fill in holes and smooth out cracks in order to make a stable structure. In the end, the business plan may not seem anything like what it was originally intended to be, yet it is a beautiful piece of art like no other, imbued with painstakingly lovingkindness.

With that in mind I've created a step-by-step how to for entrepreneurs in need of a business plan, as well as provided numerous free business plan templates and free marketing plan templates for those wanting a bit more inspiration. And for those truly adventurous entrepreneurs among us, there are always the Business Plan Writing Contests to enter, which oftentimes offer large sums of money and support to get the business plan you've written off the ground.

Posted by Bonny Albo

I get a lot of emails from readers wanting information, advice or suggestions on what kind of legitimate budget business ideas are worth contemplating for a new or inexperienced entrepreneur. Unfortunately, I am unable to answer many of these questions because they are so specific in nature. I can't do the legwork of determining whether or not a budget business idea is right for you - but I can lead you in the right direction with tools, tips and advice to get you started.

So, with that in mind, I am working on a comprehensive list of budget business ideas that anyone could start for $50 or less. Each budget business idea would include marketing ideas and ways to find customers, a breakdown of estimated startup costs, any training or certification that may be required, and links to further or more detailed information such as sample business plans or similar companies.

Are you started a business on a shoestring, and don't mind sharing your budget business idea with our readers? I'd love to showcase your business here and link back to your business, along with any pertinent information other entrepreneurs can use to start a similar concept on their own. Please email me, and I'll get back to you when I've had the chance to post your budget business idea here.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Learn how to take your web marketing message and turn it into paying customers with this free webinar, hosted by MIke Volpe, VP of Marketing at HubSpot. Topics covered will include:

• On and off-page Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Blogging
• Web Form Optimization
• Analytics

The webinar will take place on September 25th, 2007 from 1-2pm EDT.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Disruptive Capital Partners has just announced they are hosting a contest with $50,000 total ($25,000 Grand Prize and $25,000 in other prizes) in award money to find the companies with the best disruptive investment value. Entrants must write a 5-page paper describing why a company is disruptive, and why it would be a good investment overall using the models of disruptive innovation as described by Clayton Christensen and others. More information can be found on the Disruptive Capital Partners website.

Related: Business Contests

Posted by Bonny Albo

It looks like I'll be picking up my last issues of my favorite business magazine, Business 2.0, this summer. That is, if this NY Times article comes true.

It seems that the Time Inc., the owner of San Fransciso-based Business 2.0, decided several months ago to change their advertising set up to sell ad spaces in all of their related business magazines (Fortune, Money, CNNMoney, and Fortune Small Business) at the same time instead of seperately selling space for each individual market.

Yet the subscriber based was solid and steady throughout 2005 and 2006, and publisher Josh Quittner has tried (so far unsuccessfully) to garner venture capital for the enterprise.

Here's to hoping the final decision isn't to axe the publication as of September 2007. I'm personally a huge fan of the publication and look forward to its tech and internet insights every month.

Tags: Business 2.0 business business magazine internet business time magazine money

Related articles: Free Business MagazinesFree Business eBooks

Posted by Bonny Albo

The Stanford Graduate School of Business free monthly Stanford Knowledgebase, reports on ROI and other financial accounting ratios that determine profitability, and how well the people who use these terms actually understand them.

The idea for the research came from a conversation between two of Standford's professors, Stefan Reichelstein and Mark Soliman. Reichelstein, a managerial accountant asked Soliman, a financial accountant, asked how financial ratios reflect real economic values.

“I said to him, ‘Take a firm in a competitive industry such as steel, construction, or agriculture and suppose the industry is in a steady state. Should we expect a typical firm’s return on investment to come down to the cost of capital because in a competitive industry the real economic rate of return must be equal to the cost of capital?’” Reichelstein recalled. “Mark's immediate answer was, ‘Of course, everybody knows that.’ And that’s how we got started, because (a) I certainly didn’t know it, and (b) I wasn’t so sure. When we began doing some calculations and model-building, it turned out there was a lot more to the story.”

Posted by Bonny Albo

October and November of 2006 saw just under one thousand small businesses with revenue of less than $5 million a year answer a myriad of questions related to payment systems.

The study found that, on average, small businesses receive an average of just over two hundred and fifty payments a month from all sources, predominantly paid by cash (25%) and checks ($40%), with nominal amounts paid by credit cards (16%) and PayPal (9%).

The research also showed that payments are a sore spot for almost sixty percent of all businesses polled, who use outside sources to deal with payment issues (such as accountants, business colleagues, financial institutions and payments processors).

“There is clearly an opportunity for financial institutions and payment processors to deepen customer relationships and offer specific services for the small business sector,” said Laura Fuller, a director with Dove Consulting and the manager of the study.

Posted by Bonny Albo

June 2007 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of Hispanic Business magazine's annual Hispanic Business 500(R), a comprehensive list of the largest Hispanic-owned companies in the U.S.

This directory, commonly known as the HB500, is oft regarded as the one-stop resource for economic indicators in U.S. Hispanic communities. Revenues combining all 500 businesses totalled $34.87 billion last year, up more than fifteen percent from 2005.

The rankings will be available as a searchable reference on the Hispanic Business magazine website and for full review in their June 2007 print edition.

Posted by Bonny Albo

“Women face particular challenges in planning a secure financial future,” said Marty Durbin, president and chief operating officer of First Command. “While the gender gap in earnings is narrowing, women earn less, on average, than men. They typically work fewer years than men — and live longer than men, making their need for long-term financial security even more important. This new online content is designed to help women take responsibility for their own financial well-being and pursue the quality of life they desire.”

Women can go to www.firstcommand.com/mylife to learn more about how to address the special financial concerns and perspectives they face in their lives. The site offers helpful information on ways to take control of your financial destiny, including an online subscription to a free monthly eNewsletter

“According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nine out of 10 women manage their finances alone at some point in their lives,” Durbin said. “So it’s essential to start thinking about tomorrow today. First Command Financial Advisors are committed to helping consumers pursue their financial goals and dreams.”

Posted by Bonny Albo

The TAS Group, the world leader in sales effectiveness solutions, today released results of its TAS Index Global Sales Effectiveness Benchmark Study 2007, which shows that in 50% of companies globally, less than half of the sales team achieves its sales targets.

In addition, the report notes that American salespeople lack deal-closing skills compared to their European and Asian counterparts. It also finds that sales management and sales reps have widely differing perspectives on what’s working and what’s broken, salespeople employing sales methodologies perform much better than those who don’t, notes which industries have the most effective sales teams – and which are the worst, and more.

Not Making Quota

According to the study, more than 50% of companies say that less than 50% of their salespeople make quota. Based upon this figure, it would appear that an enormous number of organizations are experiencing severe sales challenges.

American Effectiveness vs. Europeans, Asians

While European salespeople scored similarly to Americans in terms of sales effectiveness (6.41 versus 6.35), they appear better at generating sales opportunities, deal close rates and maximizing value creation in those deals. American reps, however, are better at managing the sales cycle. Compared to their counterparts in Europe and Asia Pacific, Americans seem to be worse at closing deals, supporting their channel partners and disseminating a standard sales process throughout their sales organization.

On the other hand, it would appear that European and Asian salespeople could learn a few things from their American colleagues when it comes to integrating the sales organization with the rest of the company. The report indicates that the Americans seem to have better alignment with marketing and the overall company strategy and are better at describing the value a company has to offer.

The top three things Europeans could teach Americans are defining the sales process, supporting channel partners and dealing effectively with competition. Asian salespeople, on the other hand, seem to the best in the world at qualifying sales opportunities, leveraging sales management for coaching rather than just chasing the sales team for details and maximizing the value from each customer.

Different Perspectives of Sales Management and Sales Reps

According to the study, the different perspectives of individual sales people and that of sales management can lead to sub-optimal sales effectiveness and immediate improvement opportunities. Nearly three out of four (72%) sales managers believe that their sales process is well defined, while nearly 50% less, just two out four (56%) of sales reps believe this is so. In addition, 48% of sales managers think they spend their time coaching (not chasing the reps for updates), while just 34% of reps agree. Conversely, 58% of reps believe they close deals when originally forecasted, while only 46% of managers agree. And 53% of reps believe they are effective at maximizing return from existing accounts, versus only 42% of managers.

Methodology Usage and Related Sales Effectiveness

The study showed that companies that use a sales methodology more than half the time do much better than those that don't. In fact, among those salespeople, the number of people who make quota is 50% higher than those who don’t and the percent of sales proposals resulting in a sale is 77% higher. Strikingly, sales force turnover is lower by 39% when methodology usage is high. This has a really significant impact on a company’s cost and sales effectiveness as the average time taken for a sales person to ramp up to full productivity is more than three months in 83% of cases and more than six months in 50% of companies.

Top, Least Effective Sales By Industry

Salespeople surveyed were largely from the financial services, insurance, high-tech, medical devices/pharmaceutical, consumables and food and communications industries. Within these segments, sales people from financial services ranked best (7.1), while insurance salespeople ranked last (5.1) in effectiveness.

To get more details on the TAS Index or to participate in the ongoing study and obtain results for themselves at no cost, interested parties should visit www.tasindex2007.com.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Ernst & Young LLP today opened the nomination period for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2007 Awards in Florida. The deadline for applications is March 30, 2007, with the awards ceremony scheduled for Thursday, June 21, 2007 at Gaylord Palms Resort, Orlando.

Recognized as one of the most highly-regarded business award programs in the country, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards program, now in its 21st year, acknowledges business luminaries for creating and guiding innovative companies. Award winners are selected by a panel of independent judges, including local business owners – many of whom have won the award in the past – as well as area leaders from civic organizations and academic institutions.

Awards Criteria

Awards are given to entrepreneurs who have demonstrated excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Self-nominations are encouraged and there is no fee. Application forms must be received by March 30, 2007.

To be eligible for consideration, the nominee must be an owner/manager of a private or public company who is primarily responsible for the recent performance of the company and an active member of top management.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Using it's copywrited PSYTE U.S. Advantage neighborhood tracking system, MapInfo (NASDAQ: MAPS) determined which lifestyle and consumer habits in more than seventy groups determine who shops, when, and just how much.

Based on MapInfo's research, here are descriptions of Americans in several key counties:

Hey Big Spender!

MapInfo found that folks in Marin County, California were most likely to open their wallets wide, leading the nation with the highest average household expenditure. Big shoppers in the Bay Area are well represented with San Mateo ranking fourth and Santa Clara ranking ninth. New Jersey, home to more malls per square mile than any other state, also topped the list with Morris and Somerset Counties ranking fifth and sixth.

Who are the Shopaholics? Providing a sneak peek into who these big spenders are, MapInfo profiled the top counties through its PSYTE segmentation system and found the following three clusters dominating the list:

1. Executive Domain: These top business executives are running to the stores just as fast as they are climbing the corporate ladder. Consisting generally of business, financial and healthcare professionals, these households are mostly dual-earning couples between the ages of thirty-five and fifty-nine, comprising approximately 25 percent of households in Fairfax, Virginia, as well as Morris and Somerset, New Jersey.
2. Only in America: Nearly 60 percent of households in Nassau, New York and 34 percent of households in Westchester, New York fall under this multi-ethnic mix that is 75 percent white, 10 percent Hispanic and 6 percent African American. These college-educated homeowners have a mean family income of $75,000 and are predominantly found on the East Coast.
3. Professional Duos: Found in all major metro areas, these high-earning couples comprise about 18 percent of households in Marin County, California and are mostly doctors, lawyers and educators. 25 percent of these households are ethnically diverse, and 80 percent own their own homes.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Experian’s Prediction Analytics company, which provides retail location performance modeling capabilities to retail and restaurant businesses, today announced information on its complimentary Webinar Multi-Channel Retailing: Synergy or Cannibalization? During the Webinar, Prediction Analytics founder Dr. Richard Fenker will discuss the growing importance of multi-channel shoppers and the best way to grow your business while minimizing the cannibalization that can occur across multiple sales channels.

The Webinar will be conducted on Tuesday, February 27, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. EST/11 a.m. PST.

Webinar attendees will gain a deeper insight into multi-channel retailing, including:

• Understanding the extent in which new retail stores will cannibalize other sales channels
• Creating an optimal strategy for locating new stores in markets with strong catalog sales
• Learning how to profile and segment customers to predict cross-channel sales behaviors

Dr. Fenker, author of The Site Book, will provide more information about the behavior of multi-channel shoppers. He will also discuss the risks related to choosing new retail locations, the potential benefits of attracting multi-channel shoppers, and how to balance the needs of direct mail, retail and internet shoppers to maximize business potential.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity summarises prevailing best practices in a clear and jargon-free manner, enabling the reader to oversee the swift implementation of appropriate measures within their own organisation.

Written as a beginner's guide for senior executives, business owners and IT service professionals, it presents 16 chapters in a Question & Answer format for easy comprehension and speedy reading. Each chapter covers an individual aspect of disaster and continuity planning, such as Data Disasters, Communication Disasters and Disaster Recovery Tools, with real world examples providing helpful illustration throughout. Further resources are provided in the appendices, including templates, checklists and information on training. The book's contents are applicable to organisations based anywhere in the world.

Alan Calder, chief executive of IT Governance, says, "For time-poor executives disaster recovery and business continuity are issues that frequently get buried in the in-tray, usually because people aren't sure where to start. This is absolute folly as statistically very few companies survive more than a year after a disaster or business interruption. Smaller organisations are particularly vulnerable as they don't have the resources to bounce back after a major setback. This book cuts through the jargon and helps readers quickly grasp the essentials so that they can get appropriate measures in place without delay."

Posted by Bonny Albo

With e-mail and instant messaging becoming the norm in business today, professional communication becomes increasingly impersonal. Now, business greeting cards, such as business thank you cards, business birthday cards and business sympathy cards, employing the power of greeting cards are available to overcome this challenge and help companies strengthen business relationships. “When it comes to business communication, personalized greeting cards designed specifically for businesses go a long way in a world filled with e-mail, phone calls and text messages,” said Marc Wagenheim, product marketing director of Hallmark Business Expressions. “There are daily opportunities in which you can let the people who matter most to your business know they are important with these personalized business greeting cards.” To help you know when and how to send thank you cards and other business greetings cards designed to strengthen customer relationships, Wagenheim offers the following tips:

Say “Thank You” Often.

Do you have great customers? Then be sure to thank them. Sending business thank you cards to express how much their time, a referral or their loyalty means to you and your business, will definitely keep you top-of-mind.

Follow Up with Prospects.

Attracting new business means making a lasting, favorable impression with your key prospects. Review your business contact list and make sure you include key decision makers. A well-placed, “I hope we can meet again soon to continue our discussion…” puts the ball in the recipient's court without being too pushy. Also, be careful not to say or offer anything you can't deliver.

Make Special Occasions Special Again.

Everyone appreciates having a special day acknowledged. Beyond sending business thank you cards, remember specific days and events throughout the year, such as work anniversaries or milestones, birthdays and holidays with business greetings. Or, send business congratulations cards for achievements such as a promotion or a big sale, or life events such as a marriage or the birth of a baby.

Keep in Touch Regularly.

It doesn't have to be a holiday or special occasion for you to recognize how much a customer means to your business. Send a personalized business greeting card to stay top-of-mind with customers and prospects. Maintaining positive business relationships means keeping in touch regularly, even if there's nothing urgent to discuss. “There's never a bad time to send a business greeting card to build or strengthen a relationship with a customer,” said Wagenheim.

Offer an Incentive.

Business greeting cards are a great vehicle for delivering a special offer or incentive to your customers. Thank your customers and re-engage and retain them with Hallmark Business Expressions greeting cards and include a special offer or invitation to try a new product or service, attend an open house or seminar, or visit a Web site.

Keep It Professional.

Business rules are less forgiving than social ones when it comes to card sending. The three-day rule strongly applies, so send your business greetings within three days of an event or meeting. Your card should reflect your business relationship. Remember to use the appropriate level of formality — only use first names when you are 100 percent confident the recipient will be comfortable with it. When in doubt, use Mr., Ms., Mrs., Dr., or the appropriate formal or professional title. And always, always spell the recipient's name correctly.

Add a Personal Touch.

Make an extra effort to personalize your business greeting cards. If you are able to sign each card personally — even if your name is preprinted on the greeting card — your customers will feel valued. Even better, write a personal note if you have the opportunity. Your customers will appreciate the extra time you took. Personalized business greeting cards done right, and sent at the right time, can make a lasting impression and strengthen your relationships with customers.

Posted by Bonny Albo

I've had some pretty amusing free contests come by my desk of late, mostly because of the Create a Free Contest article I wrote for the Make Money without Spending a Dime Challenge recently. Most I erased pretty quickly, if only because of the time factor: I can't sift through every email I receive. But when the tagline "CPA Calls Out Vanilla Ice on Turbo Tax Contest" came across my desk this AM, I not only stifled a laugh - but I went and took a look.

It seems that Inuit has started their own free contest for this year's Turbo Tax software by inviting former rapper Vanilla Ice to be the spokesperson. The tongue-in-cheek site offers a $25,000 prize to the top rapper, along with a copy of Turbo Tax for "all qualified entries" posted on the accompanying YouTube channel.

H&R Block is also holding a similar, if less lucrative ($5,000 for the top prize) free contest called, Me and My Super Sweet Refund.

Except for perhaps Mr. Ice's fee (or the high-end video H&R block invested in), these types of "citizen journalism" contests can drive massive amounts of traffic to your business website - fast. Look at some of the Inuit entries, with more than 30,000 hits each in less than a month's time. Other businesses (such as Santa Barbara CPA David Rachford) are entering these free contests to further their own businesses.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Favorlist.com is a new sensation sweeping across America's Internet. Launched by husband and wife duo Stephen and Grethel O'Leary of Alpharetta, Georgia, Favorlist.com began as a social experiment to spread good deeds through a free online community. It is now quickly gaining popularity as the number of favors granted nears 10,000 in its first few months of existence.

"The response has been overwhelming, people are really pouring their hearts, skills, and abilities out to one another," says site founder, Stephen O'Leary. Favorlist.com is designed to benefit members from each others' unique talents or services. Members swap an array of favors from teaching piano to foreign languages, to baking cookies, and even repair and maintenance services.

Favorlist.com stems from a pay-it-forward concept where online members separately list favors they wish to grant to others, and receive for themselves. This opens up infinite possibilities since people no longer have to negotiate a trade with only those who are offering a favor they can use in return. Favorlist.com differs from traditional swap sites by encouraging more human interaction through photos and dialogue. Once members perform a favor, they receive credits, as well as rewards from the site. To collect a favor, members use the points from their initial balance, or from those they have earned.

Stephen O'Leary is surprised to find the free Starbucks incentive gift cards the site offers continue to go unclaimed, as favors keep rolling in. "The stories we hear of the good deeds accomplished through Favorlist.com are heartwarming, and people seem to do them out of kindness, not in an effort to earn the rewards Favorlist offers," he says.

Doing onto others has become addicting for this crowd. Some of Favorlist's members equate the site to a gambling addiction with a guaranteed win. "You place little things on the line, and enjoy how meaningful they become to other people," says site visitor, Rachel Kathleen. Once onboard, members keep the site's momentum alive with frequent visits and more ingenious ways to offer favors to others. Site members offer everything from care packages to American troops abroad, to legal help and snow removal.

Site member Shelley Giannino describes her experience with Favorlist.com: "My faith in the world and people has changed thanks to Favorlist.com. I have resumed faith that there are truly wonderful people out there that will help a person, no questions asked, out of the goodness of their hearts." Giannino took advantage of favors on the site during a tough period in her life, and now offers many favors in return. "I love (the Favorlist.com community) so much. They feel like friends and family," she says. Indeed, Favorlist.com's creators' vision is seeing its day, as the world becomes a smaller, friendlier place through the Internet.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Elizabeth Page has just signed on for a thirteen week pilot season with world class guests on the live talk radio show, "EquiNexus: Empowering Entrepreneurs with Purpose". Inspired by Nobel prize winner, Mohammad Yunis's 30-year microfinance movement and her own 30-year international and entrepreneurial career, including the World Bank, the Royal Society, and private-public sector collaborations, she focuses on entrepreneurship as model for leadership and personal empowerment targeted to women and youth.

"EquiNexus: Empowering Entrepreneurs" with Elizabeth Page debuted on January 22, 2007 on the VoiceAmericaTM Network, the world's leading live Internet talk radio broadcasting company. Her show airs live each Monday at 9 AM/PST, 12 PM/ET on the VoiceAmerica Business Channel. Page's first four episodes featured esteemed guests, international property rights lawyer, Andrew Sherman, global social networking and storytelling specialist Seth Kahan, KIVA peer-to peer entrepreneur lenders Matt Flannery, Premal Shah and Olana Khan, and most recently Garret LoPorto, entrepreneur and author of The Davinci Method. These shows are available as archived downloads and can be listened to on the VoiceAmerica Business Channel or via podcast.

Upcoming guests will include internationally acclaimed author, consultant and speaker Dr. Margaret Wheatley explains complexity theory, leadership, and the impact of mass collaboration on February 19; kicks off National Entrepreneur Week USA, Julie Kantor, Executive Director of the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) in Washington, D.C., February 26; Karen Maples reveals her innovation methods for entrepreneurs on March 5, C.K. Prahalad, international author of The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, demonstrates the global market reach of the long tail March 12, and Ela Bhatt, founder of SEWA, empowers women workers in India, March 19.

Posted by Bonny Albo

As part of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s promise to give California’s small businesses and disabled veteran business enterprises (DVBEs) better access to the $9 billion annually in state contracts, Rosario Marin, Secretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency, today introduced online certification for state contracting. This online process will dramatically reduce the time needed to certify small businesses and DVBEs for access to the bidding process. Previously, the process could take as long as six months. Now, it just takes one day for small businesses (SBs).

DVBEs can take longer because of the need to validate veteran status, but the new online process speeds up the application process and reduces the amount of paperwork for them too.

Certified businesses can receive contract bid preferences and email notifications of contracting opportunities. These can help businesses compete for state contracts and grow their local economies.

“When Governor Schwarzenegger took office,” said Marin, “he promised to make government truly responsive to the real needs of the people. Today’s announcement delivers on that promise.” The California Department of General Services, which will operate the new online service, is one of the departments supervised by Secretary Marin. The online certification system is now easily accessible 24 hours a day via the DGS website.

For SBs and DVBEs, certification is the first key step in gaining access to the bidding process for state contracts. Automated, online certification removes a major obstacle that had been delaying some small businesses from getting certified under the older, paper-intensive system. “Online SB certification now only takes minutes to complete if the applicant has all the required financial information handy,” said Secretary Marin. “Businesses can get certified today and conduct business tomorrow – and start funneling dollars into their local economy. That stimulates the economy for all Californians.”

Through a secure log-on, the “no-fee” online service allows businesses to apply for the following certifications with the State:

• Small Business (SB)
• Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE)
• Combined SB and DVBE
• Nonprofit registration
• Nonprofit Veteran Service Agency (NVSA)

Once certified, businesses can go online, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to update their business profile, renew their certifications and search for potential competitive bidding opportunities to grow their businesses.

“Our organization has been working with the state for quite some time to fine-tune the small business and DVBE certification process,” said Betty Jo Toccoli, president of the California Small Business Association and co-chair of the DGS Small Business Advisory Council. “This new online service is exactly the type of program development we’ve been looking for. Many small businesses and DVBEs work 24/7, so it’s great to see that some of the critical programs offered by the state are likewise becoming available to us around the clock.”

An estimated 98 percent of all businesses in California are small businesses. They employ more than half of all California workers, and they contribute over 60 percent of the state’s gross domestic product.

Last year Governor Schwarzenegger signed Executive Order S-02-06 directing all departments of state government to achieve a goal of at least 25 percent small business participation in all state contracts and procurements. As a result, California is now committed to getting more SBs and DVBEs connected to the $9 billion in state contracts.

Posted by Bonny Albo

The Internet is evolving quickly, and many of the website marketing strategies that worked well a year or two ago are ancient history today," says Jason Jantzi of OnlineResearchLabs.com. "The trend is away from the short term free-traffic gimmicks that were popular in 2005 and toward classic tried-and-true business principles that have endured for decades.

Chief in importance is devising a scalable internet business model that is at least slightly profitable. Once you know what specific set of actions you can take to produce a positive result, you can tweak and tune those actions to enhance their profitability. Then you scale up your actions to realize substantial profits just the way a successful offline business would."

But what actions can an Internet entrepreneur take to create a profitable business model in the first place? According to Jantzi, there are three website marketing strategies that will dominate the Internet in 2007.

"The first and most important thing to do is establish a back-end process for capturing prospect contact information and making offers to sell products on a regular basis. On the Internet, an auto-responder e-mail follow-up series is the easiest way to do this.

The second thing to do is to create a front-end product which you use to attract prospects and customers. This may be an item of value that you offer for free, or it may be a low-cost loss-leader item that qualifies a customer's interest and offers a low-risk way to make that first sale.

The third thing to do is to drive prospects into your sales mechanism in a cost-efficient manner. In 2007, the three dominant forces for prospecting are going to be pay-per-click search engines, organic (free) search engines, and joint venture partnerships.

Pay-per-click offers a very controllable way to drive immediate visitors to your website. As a traffic-generation strategy, pay-per-click is enticing because of its immediacy. However it can be very expensive if used recklessly, so great care must be taken when devising a strategy to ensure that it fits into the economics of your business model.

Organic or free search engine traffic is perhaps the greatest potential source of low-cost customers for your business, however the disadvantage is the lengthy lead times - often measured in months - before you receive any visitors from this strategy. Although search engine marketing is not nearly as complicated as many people believe, it is necessary to follow a carefully-conceived plan in order for this method to work. But when it works, it can average-down the cost of customer acquisition by an impressive amount.

Joint ventures may be the most exciting way to capture immediate customers without any out-of-pocket expense. JV's involve offering a substantial sales commission to a partner who already has a list of prospects, in order for him to promote your product to his list. While your marketing expense is almost nothing, this method does involve giving a large percentage - or perhaps even all - of the revenue to your JV partner. As such, it is a powerful way to make that first sale to a customer, but may not be the most profitable method to use as a long-term strategy."

According to Jantzi, it is vital to use a combination of methods to drive prospects into the sales mechanism, and then to measure, test, and tweak that mechanism continually. This dedication to continuous improvement makes it possible to maximize business profitability and compete effectively in the Internet marketplace.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Tech Coast Venture Network (TCVN) will sponsor a panel discussion on how to make a good impression when raising money on February 22nd from 6:00 to 9:00 PM at its new venue at the offices of Knobe Martens Olson & Bear LLP in Irvine, Calif.

According to Bart Greenberg of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, and TCVN chairman, the program will feature three Southern California entrepreneurs making investment presentations to a panel of high-profile angel investors active in this space. “The panel will provide real-time feedback with the intent to educate our audience as to the basic elements that are required in any presentation to investors. For those considering making a pitch to investors, this is a ‘must-see’ program,” Greenberg explained. He noted that the companies were selected based on their proposed technologies, product and/or service offerings, and the potential investment opportunities.

This TCVN Forum also offers entrepreneurs a networking opportunity with angel and early-stage venture capital investors; as well as the opportunity to provide a 30-second company pitch to attending investors; and the ability to interface with TCVN’s professional coaching and training consultants.

Admission for the TCVN Forum is $45 for pre-registrants and $55 at the door.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Which of the following is most important to you when referring business to others: Knowing a person's character? Knowing a person's level of competency? Knowing a person's success? Or, using their product or service yourself first?

How you answer that question may depend a lot on whether you are male or female. BNI, the world's largest business networking organization, launched an innovative online survey to reveal how men and women approach business networking.

"This survey will help us determine how each gender tends to approach networking, and that will help us provide networkers worldwide with techniques and insights that help their effectiveness," explains Dr. Ivan Misner, Founder & Chairman of BNI. "We're still accepting survey responses, and plan to begin analyzing the data in early 2007. I believe the results will be eye-opening."

Posted by Bonny Albo

The International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) and Duke Executive Education today announced they will launch a training series to help corporate executives lead and implement successful outsourcing and offshoring strategies.

This three-day class will help senior executives identify the benefits and pitfalls of different outsourcing models, understand the importance of corporate strategy, and recognize and address management and service challenges.

Executives participating in the new Successful Outsourcing & Offshoring Strategies program will have an opportunity to engage expert faculty at Duke and experienced executives who will address reorganizing, restructuring and leading the outsourcing program office.

“The offshoring and outsourcing space is evolving rapidly,” said Arie Y. Lewin, Director, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University. “Participants will have the opportunity to engage in discussion of Duke offshoring case studies hot off the press and rethink/retool their current strategies in the intimate setting of Duke University.”

Posted by Bonny Albo

TechBiz Connection (TBC) will sponsor a seminar on how businesses can stay ahead of the pack by utilizing the latest tools for Internet advertising success on Wednesday, February 21 at 6:00 pm at The Orange County Register in Santa Ana.

According to Jack Bicer, TBC president, Internet advertising tools are constantly changing and evolving. New techniques quickly become less effective as masses of advertisers converge on the latest online advertising tool and saturate the marketplace. In order to be successful, businesses need to be ahead of the pack by leveraging web communities, sponsorships, RSS feeds, and blogs to their fullest potential, investing in keywords, and implementing other techniques to get the desired results.

TechBiz Connection’s expert panel will reveal the latest tools for Internet advertising success and features Carol Kurimsky, Ingram Micro’s vice president of marketing for North America, as moderator.

The Forum’s expert panel includes:

• Lauren Damron, national account director for AOL Media Networks, who has focused on Internet sales for over eleven years at AOL, and previously worked with e-retailers like Gateway and Buy.com, games publishers including Playstation and various direct marketers.
• Rick Sharga, vice president of marketing for RealtyTrac, an online real estate marketplace, who is responsible for PR, IR and marketing communications activities for the company, which ranked 53rd in the 2006 Inc. 500 and 52nd in the 2006 Deloitte Fast 500.
• Nina Burokas, digital branding and marketing, The Next Paradigm, who has over 20 years of experience in the technology, telecommunications, and financial services industries, working with companies such as SBC, Nortel, Marconi and the Federal Reserve Bank.
• John Capano, vice president of planning and strategy for RiechesBaird, who is its lead strategist in the areas of non-traditional marketing and business development.
• Michael Mascott, senior sales and business development manager for Google, whose primary focus at Google is working with Fortune 500 Technology and Telecommunication companies on building integrated advertising programs that meet their objectives. In addition to his day-to-day responsibilities, he also works on the Google Grants team which provides eligible charitable organizations with in-kind keyword advertising using Google.

Admission to the TechBiz Connection event is $30 prepaid and $40 at the door.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Women have three to four times the number of bacteria in, on and around their desks, phones, computers, keyboards, drawers and personal items as men do, the study by University of Arizona professor Charles Gerba showed. Gerba, a professor of soil, water and environmental sciences, tested more than 100 offices on the UA campus and in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oregon and Washington, D.C. The $40,000 study was commissioned by the Clorox Co.

“I thought for sure men would be germier,” Gerba said. “But women have more interactions with small children and keep food in their desks. The other problem is makeup.”

Don’t get Gerba wrong: Women’s desks typically looked cleaner. But the knickknacks are more abundant, and cosmetics and hand lotions make prime germ-transfer agents, Gerba said. Makeup cases also make for fine germ homes, along with phones, purses and desk drawers.

Food in desk drawers also harbors lots of microorganisms, and it is more abundant among female office workers. Gerba found 75 percent of women had munchies in their desks.

“I was really surprised how much food there was in a woman’s desk,” he said. “If there’s ever a famine, that’s the first place I’ll look for food.”

The news isn’t all negative for the fairer sex.

Gerba found the worst overall office germ offender is men’s wallets.

“It’s in your back pocket where it’s nice and warm, it’s a great incubator for bacteria,” Gerba said.

Another hot spot for bacteria in men’s offices: the personal digital assistant.

“Men tend to play with their Palm Pilots more,” Gerba said. “I think they’re playing video games or something.”

The average office desktop has 400 times more bacteria than the average office toilet seat, Gerba said.

Gerba said using a hand sanitizer and using a disinfectant on office surfaces helps, with 25 percent fewer bacteria found on surfaces that were regularly disinfected. Once-a-day use should be sufficient.

“You don’t have to go crazy with it, but with the key areas, desktops, phones and keyboards probably need to be disinfected once in a while,” he said.

Posted by Bonny Albo

NewWest.Net publisher Jonathan Weber today announced that the first annual New West Summit on Transformation in the Rockies, to be held June 6-8, 2007 at Big Sky Resort in Big Sky, Mont., is accepting entries for a unique program called the "Innovation Showcase."

The “Innovation Showcase” will highlight new initiatives with the potential to make a substantial positive economic, cultural or social impact on the Rocky Mountain West. Selected "innovators" in each category will have the opportunity to make a presentation as part of the conference program on Thursday, June 7 and will receive two free tickets to the Summit, valued at $1700.

The Innovation Showcase includes six specific categories: Commercial, Residential & Resort Development; Energy Products and Technologies; Farm and Forestry Products and Programs; The Restoration Economy; Consumer Products and Services;andCreative Community and Public Policy Initiatives. In addition there is a seventh, “open” category for projects that benefit the Rocky Mountain West but do not fit any of the previously listed categories.

The deadline for entries is March 20, 2007. Entries should clearly list the category designation for entry and a brief essay which describes the business plan for the company, product, or program, discusses its innovative nature and why it will make a positive contribution to the Rocky Mountain West. Entries should also include additional biographical information on the key individual or individuals involved, and Web links or other background information as appropriate. Entries should be submitted by mail to New West Publishing, Innovation Showcase, P.O. Box 9107, Missoula, MT, 59804, or by email to conferences [at[ newwest [dot] net with “Innovation Showcase” included in the subject line.

Posted by Bonny Albo

February’s line-up proves that love is in the air with a diverse array of guest experts who reveal insights on the relationship between matters of the heart and matters of business. Segments include ways to create success in business while loving and believing in yourself, maintaining loving relationships with your family, surviving love in the workplace, and forming a business based on the hobbies and philanthropies dear to your heart.

Feb. 10

A young entrepreneur turns her passion for philanthropy into a business: Ellen Smoak, co-founder, Consciously Social

His job search led to his own company: Benjamin F. Kuo, Founder, Editor and Publisher, SoCal Tech LLC

Love in the workplace: Joel Kimmel, Ph.D., psychologist and business consultant

Ask the expert: Randy Broberg, Partner, Allen Matkins, offers practical legal advice.

Feb. 17

A company sails to success on new ship design technology: Bill Burns, co-founder, M Ship Co., winner of CONNECT’s Most Innovative New Products Award

Capitalizing on being woman owned: Author and consultant Janet Christy advises women business owners on how to take advantage.

Feb. 24

Encore featuring Ray McKewon, co-founder of Accredited Home Lenders, who sums up his experience making over 100 presentations to VCs before getting a “yes” to proceed in building the best performing IPO of 2003.

All shows are available on the Baby website, and as a podcast, the Tuesday following airtime. Listeners are invited to participate by calling in to 866-888-BABY (2229) to ask questions, get advice or voice opinions. The program streams live on 1700 AM’s website.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Business ownership is on the rise. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, approximately 10,507,000 Americans are self-employed, with about 1 million more people reporting self-employment as a secondary source of income.

While the unprecedented opportunity is opening doors worldwide, entrepreneurs are struggling with shifting to the entrepreneurial mindset and implementing tactics that ensure profits and success.

That's why Certified Marketing Spitfires Holly George and Leslie Hamp launched the Fast Track to Marketing Mastery™ radio show on Internet Voice of America, live every Thursday at 12:00 noon EST. Alternatively, download the archives and listen at a time that fits your schedule. The hosts, with a combined 35+ years of experience, share real-world stories and tactics that focus on what it takes to turn a small business into a rising star.

"Business ownership has always been a cornerstone of the American dream, and the current social and economic climate presents unprecedented opportunity," said George.

Co-founder Hamp agrees. "With corporate downsizing, outsourcing, and telecommuting a reality of today's business environment, we're seeing a shift to self-employment and small business ownership. Yet those new business owners are often overwhelmed by the sheer amount of marketing advice available, and they just don't know where to begin."

George says the secret to marketing success is tailoring the right tactics to a particular business.

"Smart, aggressive, master marketing is the key," she said. "It's the Holy Grail of sales. Without it, your business is unlikely to ever reach the level of success you've dreamed of. Master it, and the sky's the limit."

Showing business owners, whether start-ups or regional, national and international ventures, how to achieve greatness - and spectacular profits - is the focus of their new, weekly radio program, Fast Track to Marketing Mastery™.

In coming months business owners and entrepreneurs can look forward to in-depth reports on topics ranging from Finding The Right Target Audience to Identifying Your Key Selling Points to Sizing Up Your Competition and much more.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Providing over 13,000 business listings for minorities and non-minorities in the New York and New Jersey area, the Minority Business Directory has become a central hub for community and socially conscious consumers as well as procurement agents seeking to improve their supplier diversity quotas.

With its new online presence, the Minority Business Directory presents the largest minority business database searchable by ethnicity in the US.

"This website is the beginning of a new dimension for the Minority Business Directory," says publisher, Gregory Newson.

The online database allows visitors to the site to search for businesses by ethnicity, industry, region, as well as SIC number. This functionality will allow consumers to target their specific needs as well as bolster local minority economies.

"With the online database, we can now add listings and remove outdated listings in a day or two," says Newson. "In the past, it took months."

With an online database, advertisers in the directory are capable of marketing to a much wider consumer-base, extending beyond the New York and New Jersey area.

Posted by Bonny Albo

In order to put yourself in the right place at the right time, it is essential to keep ahead of the curve. Dr. Misner's insightful predictions about the future of networking can give you the valuable information that will put you in an advantaged position to succeed.

An exciting and interactive teleconference with Dr. Ivan Misner -- together with Soni Pitts and Kimberly George of Coachville's Networking Café is taking place on February 21st, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time (4:00 p.m. Pacific Time). This informative seminar is open to the public and it is free of charge.

Dr. Ivan Misner is the Founder & Chairman of BNI, the largest business networking organization in the world, and the information that he gives regarding his predictions for networking trends will be highly useful for anyone wishing how they can best prepare today for success tomorrow.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Bill Todd, hotelier and co-author of Speaking of Success, is offering tourism professionals a free E-book detailing how to out market the competition during the travel industry's most competitive marketing year on record.

According to Todd, "During 2007, leisure travelers, meeting planners and corporate travel managers will be inundated by an avalanche of new competing sales and marketing messages. For the first time since 2001 individual hotels, tourism offices, attractions, cruise lines, and lodging chains alike have armed their marketing people with substantial sales and advertising budgets. Collectively they intend to make a lot of marketing noise before the year is out. Travel consumers will be hard pressed to choose from the array of sales messages that will be converging on them in 2007.

Todd's E-Book focuses on time-tested, proven and highly creative strategies for sales, marketing and advertising success in a competitive marketplace. He provides the reader with a unique insight into what differentiates the average sales person or manager from those high achievers who consistently out-perform their peers. He then clearly describes five proven success strategies that, when implemented, will have an immediate, positive impact on the reader's business and personal success.

Posted by Bonny Albo

A new study released today entitled "A Virtual Solution for Business Growth, Stability and Profitability" by Sharon Williams, shows business owners how outsourcing to Virtual Assistants, members of one of the fastest growing industries today, can save time and money and increase profitability.

The report introduces small business owners, independent professionals, entrepreneurs and corporations to solutions that resolve challenges and positively influence business growth and stability. It is especially beneficial for entrepreneurs seeking relief from overwhelmed, and those that could use fresh insight into projects, an extra pair of administrative hands or an expert in Internet-based technologies.

Sharon Williams states, "Savvy business owners understand the advantages of working with Internet-based, technology-smart assistants who are dedicated to the growth, success and ultimate increased profitability of a client's business. Virtual Assistants (VAs) are skilled, knowledgeable and experienced entrepreneurs who provide professional administrative support and specialized business services from an outside location. They can play many support roles, including assuming mundane tasks, solving technology issues and handling other non-income producing responsibilities from the entrepreneur's task list. A VA is the solution to a business owner's administrative challenges."

As more home-based and part-time entrepreneurs are opening their virtual doors and small businesses, professionals and corporations are expanding their reach in the global marketplace, they are seeking ways to streamline operations, save money and effectively complete tasks. The report describes win-win results from hiring a VA to assist with achieving goals while eliminating staffing and benefit-related expenses associted with hiring employees. This study describes how business owners can realign time allocated for administrative duties to nurturing business and personal relationships.

Posted by Bonny Albo

A new report released today by Change Sciences Group looks at how banks are doing when it comes to meeting the needs of small business prospects online. Increasingly banks are learning that providing state of the art online services to businesses equals both lower servicing costs and more satisfied customers.

"It's a win-win for banks and customers if the online services are easy to use, informative and convenient," said Steve Ellis, a Change Sciences Partner.

Most leading banks are working hard to improve their services to small business customers. More than 73% of the sites had at least a partial change to their small business web presence since Q2 2006 when the research was last conducted.

Yet performing on a par with the best sites is a target that continues to elude most of the top 40 national and regional banks. The best site is more than four times easier to use and more informative than the worst site, according to the research, and more than two and a half times better than the average.

Most banks can improve their sites in a number of critical ways:

• Of those banks that offer online applications, all but four exhibit well-understood usability problems.
• Of those banks that offer automated product suggestion tools, only three make suggestions persuasively.
• Only a little over 10% of the banks reviewed provide a first impression that addresses all of the immediate questions small business prospects have.
• Although most sites provide a way to compare deposit accounts, only two sites answer all the questions small business prospects have on the comparison page. This is one less than last review.
• Only 22% of the banks make it easy to learn about and provide compelling content on business services other than deposit accounts.
• Only one bank makes it truly easy for the online prospect to switch to its services through its web site.
• 70% of the banks reviewed miss opportunities to send key messages about the value of online banking -- a key small business service.

The three best sites overall are:

1. Wells Fargo
2. National City
3. HSBC

Other bank web sites covered in the report include: Associated Bank, Bank of America, BB&T, Chase, Citizens Bank, Colonial Bank, Comerica, Commerce Bancshares, Compass Bank, Fifth Third Bank, First Citizens Bank, First Horizon, FirstMerit, Frost Bank, Huntington, Key Bank, LaSalle Bank, M&T Bank, Marshall & Ilsley, NetBank, PNC, RBC Centura, Regions, Royal Bank of Canada, Royal Bank of Scotland, Sky, Sovereign Bank, SunTrust, Synovus, TD Banknorth, US Bank, Wachovia, Washington Mutual, and Zions Bank.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Mobile technology is the newest media channel of advertising, say market researchers. And with over 200 million mobile phone users in America, today's mobile phones have become capable of much more than flashy ringtones. The possibilities for creative marketing and product branding are limitless -- and innovative design firms are taking notice.

Cleveland-based design firm Punchkick Interactive recently made the leap to mobile when it shifted gears from Web design to working exclusively with mobile devices.

"We saw a potential for unbelievable growth," said Punchkick Interactive co-founder Ryan Unger. "Mobile marketing is so new that we haven't come close to seeing its full capabilities. It's like the Internet of the early 90s -- a sleeping giant."

And he's not alone in his belief. This year alone, billions will be spent on mobile phone based advertising, and an increasing number of companies are recognizing the value of non-traditional marketing strategies. The recent success of viral videos on YouTube® have proven that niche marketing can be a powerful way to stretch advertising dollars and produce impressive results.

Mobile marketing can take on a number of different forms, including product-branded games, text-message campaigns and customized mobile applications.

"Mobile development can be challenging because it requires a strong grasp of programming and interface design in order to develop content compatible with different mobile phones," added Unger. "Every phone is unique and has its own screen size and memory specifications."

"Nevertheless," he said, "It's a type of marketing that, when done correctly, can create an incredible impact."

Posted by Bonny Albo

Internet marketing expert Derek Gehl has just released a free report to address key areas where many small business owners have fallen behind in their email marketing efforts.

"The world of Internet marketing is constantly changing, especially when it comes to

email deliverability," says Gehl. "And many of my customers are finding they're just

not getting the same results from their campaigns that they used to."

But, Gehl says there is no need to hit the panic button just yet. According to him,

email marketing is still extremely profitable. "Any business can absolutely benefit

from email marketing," says Gehl, pointing out the Internet Marketing Center's own

success with email. "We generated $3.5 million from email marketing last year

alone."

Gehl's report lays out the solutions to ten common mistakes that prevent email

marketers from getting maximum returns from their email promotions. Some of these

common mistakes include:

1. Wasting time and resources managing "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests
2. Sending multiple copies of a message to each contact
3. Letting "bounces" ruin your deliverability
4. "Carpet-bombing" your list with a single offer
5. Expecting results from impersonal "boilerplate" messages
6. Going for the sale before building a relationship
7. Wasting time delivering products and information manually
8. Sorting incoming mail manually
9. Missing the warning signs of diminishing returns
10. Paying steeper fees as your marketing ramps up

Posted by Bonny Albo

Here comes the Super Bowl and the ad industry's annual pitch that "good" advertising is funny, pretty, and clever. Ad agency gurus want us to believe that good advertising is cool, hip, funny and wild--that it has little to do with frivolous things like a product's features, benefits and value to the buyer.

But according to John Michelet, author of "Advertising: Industry in Peril," (Olympian Publishing), the truth is that advertising was developed to give people factual and emotional information to help them make buying decisions. David Ogilvy, Fairfax Cone, Bill Bernbach, John Caples, Claude Hopkins and other industry legends would heartily disapprove of not only the Super Bowl ads, but most of the ads we see today.

"It's bad enough that many big, visible advertisers waste their money on the Super Bowl," Michelet says. "What's a lot worse is that hundreds of thousands of little and medium-sized advertisers look at Super Bowl ads as examples of 'good' advertising, and they try to emulate them, with disastrous results."

As Michelet attests, advertising should bring about changes in knowledge, beliefs and attitudes. Buyers want help making a smart decision. Advertisers are telling them jokes instead.

"When you're looking at this year's crop of ads, try to look past the glitz, glamour and guffaws and ask yourself, 'Does that ad make me more likely to buy that product, or does it just make me laugh?'" Michelet says.

Though Super Bowl ads can be entertaining, the heated debate over which is "best" at persuading customers is another matter. Some products, like beer and sport shoes, are usually sold on image and feel. Others, like cell phones are sold primarily on product benefits. Still others, like most cars, are sold on a combination of image and product benefits. "Next time you think you've seen a good ad, make sure you're talking about an ad that actually brings a buyer closer to buying the product."

Posted by Bonny Albo

What New Year's "resolutions" have you made for yourself in 2007? Are you going to finally join a gym, eat right and try to cut down on road rage? That's all well and good, but what about those resolutions to jump-start your business for the coming year? To help you get started, publicity expert Diana Laverdure, vice president of Reeves Laverdure Public Relations, Inc. in Boca Raton, Florida, outlines five important resolutions that people can implement immediately to increase their company's awareness and credibility through positive publicity.

Resolve to finally figure out a "unique selling proposition."

A unique selling proposition is that attribute about the company that positively differentiates it from its competition. At Reeves Laverdure Public Relations, our unique selling proposition is that our agency concentrates strictly on media publicity, and we are all former journalists. Being aware of our unique selling proposition enables us to more effectively sell our services and differentiate ourselves from other PR agencies.

If you own, say, a car wash, what is the unique selling proposition? Is it that the service is mobile, enabling busy executives to keep their cars spiffy without ever having to leave their offices? Or, if you're a cosmetic surgeon, do you employ specialized technology that allows clients to "see" their results prior to undergoing a surgical

procedure?

Every company has a unique selling proposition. But when we are so entrenched on a day-to-day basis just keeping our businesses running, we often overlook what is special about us. Take the time to step back and assess the business from the perspective of a client or customer. Or, better yet, ask clients and customers what it is about your business that they particularly like. You might uncover a common theme that is in fact the unique selling proposition you never knew you had.

Resolve to get to know the local reporters that cover your industry.

If you don't take the time to figure out who covers the industry in the local media area, then how can you expect to ever get publicity coverage? Without targeting your message to the correct person, it will just get lost in some reporter's "delete" box -- and make you appear unprofessional at the same time. To find the reporters that cover issues pertaining to your business, carefully read local papers and take note of who covers what industries. You can also simply call the papers' newsrooms and ask, for example, who covers the restaurant (or medical or legal or banking or whatever) industry. If your business falls into a category that does not fit under a specific beat, your best bet is to target media outreach to the paper's business (or small business) editor. If it is a small paper without a business editor, ask for the person who covers your specific geographic location.

Resolve to not send reporters meaningless press releases.

Press releases are a dying breed, and for very good reason. Most press releases are nothing more than self-serving drivel that contain not even a shred of credible newsworthiness to them (so, should we tell you how we really feel?). Instead of irritating reporters and editors with yet one-more meaningless press release in their already packed in-box, resolve this year to come up with newsworthy angles to promote your company, service or product. Reporters and editors love local angles to national stories, and you will certainly have a much better shot at getting some press by approaching the media this way than with one more self-congratulatory press release.

Resolve to become an "expert source" in your field.

One of the best ways to establish a good relationship with reporters -- and score yourself some positive ink at the same time -- is to offer yourself up as an expert source in your industry. We're all used to seeing "experts" quoted in the newspapers and magazines on everything from the latest cosmetic procedures to tax strategies to the right wine to pair with your Thanksgiving meal. The only reason that these "experts" are indeed "experts" at all is because they (or their publicist) have offered themselves up as such to the media. Put together a brief one-page fact sheet outlining your experience and expertise in the industry, perhaps also outlining specific issues you can comment on, and either e-mail it or mail it to the appropriate reporter with a brief cover letter explaining your purpose. Most importantly, when a reporter does call, be sure to respond in a timely manner. When they need quotes they will mot often be on a tight deadline and will need to speak with you immediately. If you fail to accommodate them, you will gain a reputation as being an unreliable source, and that will only serve to backfire.

Resolve to create a publicity plan.

As with most everything else in life, we can't achieve publicity goals unless we draw out a plan for how we will get there. When creating a plan, we suggest setting both long-term (three-to-five-year) and short term (one-year) goals. The short-term goals can then be broken down into monthly, weekly and daily action steps to help you get where you want to go. For example, if your three to five year goal is to become so recognized as the authority in your industry that you are called to do a minimum of 10 speaking engagements a year, then you must first set shorter term goals which will create the foundation for your long-term goals. Your one year goal, for instance, could be to have six articles written about you and to be quoted at least 10 times in the media. Action steps to achieve these goals can be to send the appropriate media one timely story angle each week which involves your company. Only by really carving out the time to take the necessary steps will you acieve the publicity results you are aiming for. Like anything else worthwhile, getting into the media is not easy. It takes patience, perseverance and the ability to create newsworthy story angles that both appeal to reporters and gain recognition for your company at the same time.

If you integrate these "publicity resolutions" into your 2007 marketing plan and stick with implementing them on a regular basis throughout the year, you will be sure to make huge strides by the time 2008 rolls around.

Posted by Bonny Albo

In the world of small business owners and entrepreneurs, nothing can be more frustrating and time consuming than trying to run a business while also trying to develop an edge on the competition through their brand and marketing strategies. elf design has created a 5-step system to eliminate these dilemmas by educating entrepreneurs on the following areas:

1. Define their unique position to the world

2. Design their logo and brand identity

3. Develop their website and marketing communications collateral

4. Distinguish their offerings from the crowd

5. Direct the use of their new brand so that it can reach its fullest potential

"If you address all 5 of these steps when you create your brand identity and marketing designs, you'll create a professional brand for your business that will make it easy for you to build big-business credibility for your small business. A professional brand identity communicates your company's purpose and promises, increases your memorability and drives sales," said Erin Ferree.

Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Time: 10:00 AM PST/ 1:00 PM EST

Location: http://www.elf-design.com/teleclass-monthly.html

Posted by Bonny Albo

It has been over a year since interior designer, Linda Calder, created her web site, http://www.newenglandfineliving.com . This Internet portal helps other small business owners market their businesses to the public in a fun and effective way. While traveling all over New England, Calder would meet other entrepreneurs that offered great products and services, but many of them, she found by chance, due to getting lost or traveling in an area that was new to her. The more she talked to the owners, Calder realized she was not alone when it came to finding new clients in a creative way.

"I used to promote trade shows in the 80's and 90's, and I started to consider the idea of hosting another event to help some of these business owners, but when I started to look at the wide geographical area that these businesses came from, a local trade show would not be beneficial to them," she said.

While doing a little research on the internet, Calder realized that she could create a web site that had the key ingredients needed to sponsor a trade show on-line. "I knew I wanted to share many of these business with my clients and friends, so why not share them with all of the Internet readers and shoppers. I created a mission statement to help me focus on the types of businesses that I wanted to promote, then I set out to build my site. What started as a hobby, has become a wonderful business. The site offers product and service reviews, things to do listings, informative articles, and inspiration as well as the business listings. It is my own version of a magazine," she said.

There is no fee to be listed on New England Fine Living, but businesses do have to meet the criteria of Calder's Mission Statement. Businesses are also asked to link New England Fine Living.com to their web site to help the network grow. If a business would like their logo next to their link information, there is a one time fee of $99.00.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Small business owners and entrepreneurs with limited financial resources often need help reaching their business objectives but they can't afford to outsource projects or to obtain the necessary training to do the projects themselves. This results in a lack of basic business skills training that leaves their company vulnerable to adverse market conditions that could be overcome if the necessary know-how was available.

According to Angel Brown, president of the Women's Business Gallery, "The average entrepreneur is limited by time availability and a small operating budget that prevents them from learning how to properly manage their business, or grow it so it's got staying power. It's a Catch-22 situation; without knowing how to set goals and reach them, small businesses can't grow, and without growth, they can't stay in business."

To help ease the burden of costly classes and the time investment necessary to obtain skills training, the Women's Business Gallery has begun offering free monthly teleseminars to address the small business owners and entrepreneurs' business education needs. Topics covered in the workshops include marketing, joint venture partnerships, goal setting and project planning, do-it-yourself website design, budgeting for your small business, and other interest areas required to succeed at small business ownership. As Ms. Brown says, "It's easier to participate in a skills workshop that's offered as a teleconference because you don't have to close up shop to be in attendance. And since the audio file is always made available after the event to everyone who registered for it whether they attended or not, anybody can take advantage of the educational opportunities we're offering."

Posted by Bonny Albo

If you are tired of waking up at the crack of dawn every morning, slipping on your uncomfortable business suit and fighting the traffic to get downtown, February 12 may be the perfect time to stop the insanity. Trade in your designer business suit for a plush bathrobe and trade your 30 minute commute into a 30 second walk to your home office. Monday, February 12, 2007 is the fifth annual "Doing Business in Your Bathrobe Day," a day to celebrate the freedom home business ownership brings to those professionals who have grown tired of the rat race and made a major life change.

Pennsylvania virtual assistant, Lauren Hidden has been working from home since her older son was born more than six years ago. Her company, The Hidden Helpers, provides freelance writing, book editing and editorial virtual assistance services to individuals and businesses locally and nationwide. And yes, on Monday, February 12th, she will be working in her bathrobe. "I don't often wear a bathrobe when I'm working, but the point is, I can. Working at home is a different lifestyle than working at a corporate office. I can wear whatever I want, set my own work hours, take time off during the day to volunteer or keep appointments. I can choose who to work with and what projects I want to take on. There's nothing like working for yourself."

Like many other successful virtual assistants, Hidden got many, many emails from people (usually moms) looking for advice on how to start their own virtual business. In response, Hidden teamed up with former IVAA (International Virtual Assistants Association) President, Jeannine Clontz, to write their recently released book, Entrepreneurial Freedom: How to Start and Grow a Profitable Virtual Assistance Practice. "It's clear that many people are desperately looking for a career solution that makes them happy, said Clontz. Lauren and I wanted to help by giving new home business owners a step-by-step guide to building and growing their virtual businesses. So far, this book has been well-received--it is already considered a "must-read" by some colleges and VA training programs. In fact, because of numerous requests, a companion workbook is being released soon."

While starting and maintaining a home-based business may seem out of reach for many, and certainly is not for everyone, staggering numbers of professionals are considering work-from-home opportunities as a viable option to an ever-changing global corporate marketplace.

"Doing Business in Your Bathrobe Day" was created by Kristie Tamsevicius, co-founder of Webmomz.com. She views having a home business as the ultimate life balancer. "Some people may think that living and working under the same roof creates more stress, but in fact, just the opposite is true. Working from home gives you the freedom to schedule your work around your life, rather than the other way around. That way you can create a life that you truly love."

Clontz and Hidden agree. For the millions of people who have dreamed about a home-based business and the opportunity to finally have some life balance, February 12, 2007 may be the perfect day to call in sick, slip on your fluffy bathrobe and begin the entrepreneurial journey.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Ever notice how when you feel happy at work, your job performance is more productive? Ever notice that when you're unhappy at work -- feeling confused, stressed or unappreciated -- productivity diminishes?

If you haven't you should, says Authentic Happiness expert and Customer Care Coach® publisher JoAnna Brandi. She explains, "Stories on the relationship between workplace happiness and employee productivity have made the cover of The Economist and have been featured in The New York Times Magazine and The Wall Street Journal.

"It's time for business leaders to take their heads out of the sand and realize that while they're not responsible for each employee's individual happiness, they are responsible for creating a work environment where employees feel good about themselves, and their work."

Brandi points out that more and more statistics prove the inextricable link between the work environment and employee happiness, as well as between employee happiness and customer happiness. She says, "It makes perfect sense. When employees feel good about coming to work, when they feel appreciated and they know they make an important contribution to the success of the company, they're going to be more generous in the contributions they make to the company's success."

Business leaders, managers, team leaders and supervisors are in the positions to have the greatest impact on creating a positive workplace. Brandi recommends they put her five easy tips into action to lift the "happiness quotient" at work:

1. Positivity -- Be positive, and focus on the positive in both the people around you and in the company in general. This means you're looking at the strengths in others and at what the business does well, rather than focusing on the people's weaknesses and the company's shortcomings.
2. Appreciation -- This is one of the deepest human needs. Make sure you let people know how you appreciate when they do a good job. Let customers know you appreciate them, too.
3. Recognition and Reward -- As you notice more and more of what people are doing "right," be sure to reward and recognize their behaviors both tangibly and intangibly.
4. Clarity -- Workplace negativity symptoms like stress, disappointment and frustration may be indicators that employees do not have a clear picture of their role in the company or of your expectations of them. Ask employees if they have what they need to get their jobs done and engage them in conversations about their positions. Answer their questions clearly and thoroughly.
5. Connection -- Let everyone know the special part they play in touching customers' lives and creating success in the company. When customer loyalty, customer retention or profits increase, be sure to celebrate the employee efforts that led to those achievements. People who know they make a difference at work are more likely to be happy on the job -- making them less likely to leave it.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Can a business manager ever trust his or her employees too much? “Absolutely!” says Scott Sabo, who learned this tough lesson when his industrial staffing company, LaborWorks, took a serious hit after the dot-com crash and tragic events of 9/11.

Based in Gig Harbor, Wash., LaborWorks opened in 1998, expanded with six Pacific Northwest branches, and boasted revenues of 6.5 million within three years. However, when the economy stumbled, LaborWorks needed to shrink its employee pool and close two of its newest branches. Scott hated shutting down the offices but found it even harder cut his staff. Personally attached to everyone he’d hired and a very trusting sort of leader, Scott had never measured employees’ performance or held them accountable for work. Firing his “friends” was a gut-wrenching, emotional undertaking.

Knowing that he needed some real objectivity and change, Scott recruited Management Action Programs (MAP). MAP is a veteran business-consulting firm that has accelerated sustained growth for over 12,000 companies and 150,000 executives since 1960.

“Like many new entrepreneurs facing a quickly growing business, Scott lacked a solid recruitment or management plan; he’d bring people on board and just trust that they’d do a good job,” says Lee Froschheiser, MAP’s president/CEO, and author of “VITAL FACTORS: The Secret to Transforming Your Business — and Your Life” (2007, Jossey-Bass/A Wiley Imprint, $27.95). “LaborWorks suffered because some staff members weren’t motivated or productive. Fortunately, Scott is a very humble leader and, with MAP’s help, he put a solid plan in place and got the right people on board.”

How did Scott transform his staffing company into a Pac-West powerhouse? Using MAP’s customized principles, he improved his delegation skills, empowered his staff, and established accountability through the customized Vital Factors process. Using Vital Factors -- or critical elements that need to be measured and accomplished -- Scott tracked progress and kept a focus on the company’s vision.

“In adopting this system, it took the emotions out of management,” Scott says. “People now see in advance if they’re not making the grade, and they tend to get out before we have to do anything about it, or, even better, they improve upon their weaknesses!”

The proof is in the profit: With MAP’s program and Scott’s commitment to change, LaborWorks’ earnings have soared from 5.6 million to 14.4 million in just over two years. And as a bonus, Scott has profited from a newfound trust in himself as a more empowering, productive type of leader.

Posted by Bonny Albo

The trend back to direct mail newsletters has become increasingly popular once again. This may be a surprise to some who have been using the Internet, specifically e-Newsletters as a marketing medium. Marketing using the Internet can be fast and it can be relatively inexpensive. However, research indicates that e-Newsletters are not the best way for businesses to effectively communicate with their customers and clients.

Patient News Publishing, one of North America's leading providers of innovative customized dental health newsletters, has realized that despite the popularity and increased use of the Internet, it does not provide the most effective method for marketing.

After numerous studies were conducted, it has been concluded that newsletters sent to clients via email, focus groups and studies resulted in lower readings and minimal retention rates. Oftentimes, e-mail marketing is ignored because it looks like it is just another piece of advertising sent to drum up business and computer spam filters often discard it before the client ever gets a chance to read it.

"Newsletters work," states Joanne Bishop, vice president for Patient News Publishing, a leader in the custom newsletter-publishing field. Patient News Publishing, located in Haliburton, Ontario, specializes in producing quality custom dental marketing newsletters for dental practices. "For our clients, a customized patient newsletter is a powerful goodwill ambassador and practice-builder," says Bishop. "A patient newsletter is essential for every dental practice that has or wants an established patient base. It will combat naturally occurring attrition and help promote services. It will strengthen brand awareness and generate high quality new patients. It will educate and help communicate. It will introduce services and help referral growth. It is a superior marketing tool," adds Bishop.

Patient News Publishing has used this valuable piece of information, as well as their own research and experience, to capitalize on the advertising shift toward direct mail marketing. This publishing company has found that their services of offering professionally produced direct-mail custom newsletters that contain eye-catching graphics and interesting text, are being read cover to cover and being retained for future reference.

The trend and success rates of direct mail marketing newsletters and printed advertising indicate that custom company newsletters provide a successful way for businesses to promote themselves, develop customer loyalty and build brand awareness.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Business resolutions often don't work for the same reason that most business leaders miss their performance objectives more often than they'd like.

Simply put, this is a conversation about the strategy of goal setting. The reason that most resolutions never make it past the first week or two is that they are worded as hopes, wants, or wishes which sound like this:

• "I want to sell more this year,"
• "I want more satisfied clients," and
• "I want to improve the quality of my team."

None of the examples are goals -- they're just very general desires. Unless they are converted into goals, the odds of a disappointing or status-quo year mount.

As a speaker, seminal leader, strategist, and coach, Mr. Green teaches his clients to apply a 5-component test to determine whether a statement of want is a real goal or not, which has a direct bearing on how achievable it ultimately is. The acronym for this test is SMART:

1. Specific (Can you clearly visualize the outcome?)
2. Measurable (Can you objectively measure the outcome?)
3. Achievable (Is the goal within the realm of reality / possibility?)
4. Realistically high (Is the goal too easy and not enough of a stretch?)
5. Time-bound (When will the goal be accomplished?)

If we take the resolution examples and converted them into SMART goals that meet the 5-component test, they will sound like this:

• We will increase 2007 revenue by $275,000 - with half of the increase from new accounts and the other half from add-on business with existing clients.
• We will reduce client complaints in 2007 by 30% through a combination of improving product quality and customer service.
• By April 30, 2007, we will research, select, and engage an outside professional to implement training and development processes for management, sales and customer service.

Setting goals is a daunting task, he notes. It's even more daunting to review them regularly, execute the action items, and complete them reasonably near the due date that was originally set.

That said, Mr. Green points out that there is a process you can use to improve your batting average, and therefore the impact of your business goals. It's is called an Annual Goals Review (AGR), and he uses it in various ways with many of his clients. The AGR is a simple 6-step process that helps you to evaluate and plan for the future:

1. Revisit your organization or department Vision Statement (we cannot achieve that which we can't envision or believe).
2. Review the results of your previous year's goal accomplishment (or lack thereof). Are there any goals to carry forward into the New Year?
3. Evaluate your organization or department performance improvement status (this will help you identify areas of need).
4. Create a list of Critical Goal Categories (CGC's). These are areas of focus that are absolutely essential to get the results you want -- try to limit yourself to 5-8.
5. Write SMART goals for each CGC. Be sure to determine the rewards that will accrue to you for completing each goal, the consequences for not completing the goal, the obstacles that could prevent you from completing the goal, the possible solutions and actions steps to be taken, and dates for each step.
6. Assign goals and action steps to individuals for accountability and tracking.

Goal setting and goal planning provide focus and a spark of energy. Without SMART goals and a plan to achieve them, your activities are much like arrows shot up into the air -- you really have no idea where they will land. When you convert your business resolutions into goals, it's a lot easier for you to visualize the outcomes, to plan for them, and -- importantly -- to communicate them in a clear and actionable manner to your team.

You'll find yourself on a path to much more predictable results and to numerous other celebrations of your success in the New Year.

Posted by Bonny Albo

According to FHM's email newsletter, Sony has launched "The Big What Adventure", which asks UK users of Sony's gaming products to suggest future marketing ideas.

Spawned by advertising agency TBWA London, the mass market request to "submit ideas for real briefs" with the promise of a "reward" that consists of - well, nothing - hasn't gone over well with the gaming community.

Private Eye Magazine described the initiative as "an attempt to get the public to do TBWA's work for them" - but as executive planning director Neil Houston told Games Industry, "Thebigwhatadventure.com is an experiment in open source creativity - nothing more, nothing less."

"More and more creative ideas and campaigns are non traditional in their form, often relying on what we would conventionally call 'consumers' to at the least participate in - and often construct - the campaign itself."

"Learning how to collaborate and create with people outside of the conventional realms of the advertising community is something that we think is important."

Posted by Bonny Albo

There's a revolution going on and it's changing the way business is done on the web. On January 25, 2007 at 1PM, Search Marketing Now will present a free webcast that sheds light on the evolving trends in Social Search and how savvy marketers can benefit from them.

Join search marketing expert and Search Engine Land Executive Editor Chris Sherman for "Social Search: New Marketing Opportunities," a 45- minute exploration of the opportunities and how you can leverage them.

You'll learn:

• What are the characteristics of social search
• How social search is changing online interactions
• How to tap into this new marketing opportunity

Registration is free. Click here to sign up or visit http://searchmarketingnow.com.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Launched by Sheri McConnell, the Founder and President of the National Association of Women Writers (NAWW), the Association of Web Entrepreneurs (AWE) has one goal in mind: to mentor web entrepreneurs.

When asked why Sheri chose to form an organization for web entrepreneurs, she said: "I love bringing the top experts together to teach people how to leverage their knowledge on the Internet and take back their lives!"

The Association has teamed up with some of the big industry names such as Christina Merkley of Shift-It-Coach; Melanie Benson Strick of Success Connections; Penny Sansevieri of A Marketing Expert; Dan Poynter of Para Publishing; Michael Port of Book Yourself Solid; Adam Urbanski of The Marketing Mentors; Vickie Sullivan of Sullivan Speaker; Peter Bowerman, author of "The Well Fed Writer"; Kim Fulcher of Compass Life Designs; Alexandria Brown, The E-zine Queen; Andrea Lee of Multiple Streams of Coaching Income; and Raleigh Pinskey of Promote Yourself.

AWE offers paid memberships which include access to live teleseminar events, recorded teleseminars, audio transcripts, educational products, access to the AWE’s global network and discounts on other web-related products and services. The Association also provides members with an entire month of free coaching.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Day Thirteen: Barter

If this is your first time visiting the thirty-day Make Money without Spending a Dime Challenge - Welcome! If you want to start from the beginning, you'll find the first posting here, and a list of all of the challenges to date here. Questions, comments or ideas to add? Join the discussions for free.

Before there was money, there was barter. All known civilizations (except perhaps the Incas) used bartering as a method of exchange. The practise became somewhat obsolete, however, as currency came into play. No longer did you have to find a butcher who needed some metalworking in order to make an exchange!

Today, the same issues occur with bartering: if you are going to barter one-on-one with another small business, they'd better have something of value to you as well - and therein lies the rub.

I registered with several free online bartering companies to check out how things had changed over the years, but there were unfortunately few options. There is no eBay of bartering (although I must admit it's an excellent business idea), but there are numerous groups to get you started.

In barter's defence, I did receive more than thirty barter requests from people all over the world after posting my profile as an seo copywriter. The problem, however, was that none of the people who needed my services had anything of value to me (not to say what they had to offer wasn't of value!) I'm still wading through the responses though, so there may be a gem in the pile yet.

Also, bartering allows someone with no cash flow (i.e. a person taking this make money challenge) to generate leads almost instantly. Join a paid barterting system, and I'm sure the leads will quarduple - as well as become more palatable as many of these systems use a currency-like approach, where if you provide a product or service to someone, you receive credits, and in turn you can spend those credits on other products and services needed.

Free Bartering Services

• U-Exchange
• BarterFest
• Free Barter Forum
• The Barter Shop
• WoonBa
• DigiBarter

Paid Bartering Services

• BNI USA, yearly membership fee ($250) + $10/month + 12.5% of all purchases.
• Bartercard International, prices vary per country.
• International Barter Alliance
• Barter Your Services, $18/3 months or $48/year.

Ready to Post Free Classified Ads for Day Fourteen?

Posted by Bonny Albo

Women of color are invited to attend a forum created "to identify barriers to business growth and to develop action plans to overcome them".

The first of the four-part series will take place in Philadelphia on February 21st from 9-5pm at the Courtyard Marriot. Future forums will take place throughout 2007 in Atlanta, GA; San Francisco, CA; and Dallas, TX. Once the project is finished, the results from the study will be presented at a 2008 conference addressing female of-color entrepreneurs.

Women of color entrepreneurs are invited to apply to participate in this groundbreaking study. Selection criteria include owning a business that is at least 50% women-owned with annual revenues between $250,000 and $5 million in any industry. Women of color entrepreneurs who meet the criteria and want to participate may contact the Center for Women's Business Research, by calling 202-638-3060, ext. 710, or on-line at http://www.womensbusinessresearch.org/womenofcolor.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Day Twelve: Free Press Release Distribution

If this is your first time visiting the thirty-day Make Money without Spending a Dime Challenge - Welcome! If you want to start from the beginning, you'll find the first posting here, and a list of all of the challenges to date here. Questions, comments or ideas to add? Join the discussions for free.

It's day twelve of my make money challenge, and I think before I get into the nitty gritty of today's topic - free press release distribution - I'll detail some of the positive feedback from the journey so far. Remember (and for those new to the challenge), I'm not only writing about ways with which to make money without spending a dime - I'm also testing these theories with my own copywriting and marketing business. Any ideas I use that don't work for me will be quickly thrown from my marketing arsenal, but nonetheless shared with my readers, as what works for my business may not work for yours, and vice versa.

So with that, I'll admit that the most valuable make money tactics so far have been a combination of several topics: Blog Marketing, Bootstrapping Emails, and several tools I haven't had the opportunity to post about yet like barterting, free classifieds and online networking. How well I have I fared so far with the challenge? In the twelve days I've posted to this blog, I've earned the business of three new long-term clients totalling several thousand dollars in work. Not bad for having spent a total of zero dollars for marketing and publicity purposes.

My next tactic included taking something I do for profit with many of my clients and using it as a free money making tool for my own enterprise: press releases. However, I'm not about to go into the "how to write a press release" diddy here because (a) I think there are many other experts who do a much better job than I (such as Joan Stewart, the Publicity Hound), (b) I recently blogged on another site about the same topic and (c) I write press releases for a living and wanted to take a break from the topic.

What I will detail, however, is free press release distribution - or in other words, how to get your press release in the right person's hands.

How to Get Free Press Release Distribution

After you've ensured that your press release is written to specific standards, save it as a .txt file. Make sure that any URLs and other contact information show up still. If they don't, change the .txt file so that they do. You'll be copying and pasting this information for free press release distribution a lot in the next couple of days, so you might as well make the task easier.

Next, send a copy of your press release to a friend of yours, copying and pasting it into the body of an email. Get them to proof it, making sure there aren't any typos you overlooked. If you need to check that your email address is working correctly, then do that too.

Sign Up for Free Press Release Distribution

Once finished, it's time to sign up with a couple of free press release distribution sites. You may find others, but the ones I found most useful were:

• PressBox UK
• PR Leap
• PR Log
• I-Newswire
• USA News
• Click Press
• Newswire Today
• Express Press Release

Submit your press release to all of these sites, making sure to follow their terms of use.

Bookmark Free Press Release Distribution Media Contacts

Next, bookmark the following sites, who offer links and email addresses of national and international media outlets:

• Media Post
• Alternative Press
• Ecola
• Radio-Locator
• Trade Publications

Take a closer look at one of the sites listed above that takes your fancy. Copy and paste twenty email addresses of media contacts you think would want to know about what your press release details. Then, email each one your press release (making sure to write PRESS RELEASE with the title of the press release listed in the subject line) to each of these twenty people - individually. I realize that's a lot of copying and pasting, but unless you've got some amazing anti-spamming email program I don't know about, I'd rather you do it individually rather than lose your free web page hosting account.

Repeat this free press release distribution process for as long as you are able to each of the media outlets that interest you, every day for a week.

Targeted Free Press Release Distribution

For those that still want more ideas, hit your favorite search engine and type in the keywords you've love to have #1 positioning for your small business. Take a look at the top 20 sites that show up, and see if perhaps they'd be interested in your press release. Yes? Then look for the Contact Us button.

Continue your press release distribution along these lines for a week, then check your web server log to see how many new links are tracking back to your website - if you haven't already seen a deluge in your mailbox.

Onto Day Thirteen?

Posted by Bonny Albo

Day Eleven: Conduct a Free Needs Analysis

If this is your first time visiting the thirty-day Make Money without Spending a Dime Challenge - Welcome! If you want to start from the beginning, you'll find the first posting here, and a list of all of the challenges to date here. Questions, comments or ideas to add? Join our discussions for free.

Providing a free needs analysis to potential clients was something I had heard of before, but never used in my arsenal of free publicity tactics in the past. I thought it would be too complicated to do for little (or worse, no) gain. A recent review of other seo copywriters online showed me that it is an oft-used, rarely discussed technique that brings in qualified clients in droves - if done correctly. I had to investigate further.

But first of all, What is a Needs Analysis?

According to an online insurance company, a needs analysis is "part of the fact-finding stage in the personal selling process; the process of developing a detailed personal and financial picture of a prospect in order to evaluate his or her insurance needs".

I couldn't have said it better myself (other than the insurance part, of course).

But how you would use this type of information to get customers, you ask? Simple. You tell them.

Create a Free Needs Analysis Email Contact List

I'm assuming that you've already done your market research and are fully aware of what types of customers or businesses need or want your products/services. For a caterer that might mean contacting event planning companies, for someone who sells candles that might be a church and/or spa, and so forth.

Once you've located a small list of people (smaller is better at first to test your theories and response rates), carefully craft an email to these key people. Focus on service, not on sales, letting the key decision makers know you are aware of their business requirements and want to help them grow. Make sure to include benefits to the reader, such as:

• What will the reader get out of this free needs analysis?
• What changes are expected as a result of this free needs analysis?

Eventually you'll have to answer these questions in your free needs analysis, as well as what economic costs and benefits will occur with implementation - but let's leave that for later.

After writing your free needs analysis email, send it to a friend or colleague for review. Would they answer your email? If not, change and update it until they would. This may take a day or so, but the more time spent the better, since you don't want to come off as a spammer.

Offering Your Free Needs Analysis

Remember those emails you collected? Now is the time to individually send each person their free needs analysis invitation. Of course, you could hire a company to send out emails to their opt-in list, but we're making money without spending a dime, remember?

Send each letter to each individual one by one to avoid spam filters. Then, leave it. Wait a week. If you get no responses, send out a couple more - up to one hundred more (again, one by one). If you don't even get one hit from your offer, it's time to rewrite your copy, perhaps with the help of a copywriter (like me). On average, a well-written email with a free offer should garner about 1-5 responses in 100 emails (although I've seen in excess of a 65% response rate so far with my offer, but your results may differ).

Now what, you ask? How Do I Create a Free Needs Analysis?

When you get a response to your free needs analysis - don't panic. You've already done this a million times with your current customers. Honest!

Remember when someone walked into your store and they looked lost? You asked them probing questions to see what they needed - and that's all a free needs analysis really is.

For some ideas on what types of questions to ask and how to analyze the results you receive, review this very thorough needs analysis for information developers (education or training), a sales process needs analysis questionnaire, or this extremely informative, step by step needs analysis for a radio station. If you require ideas more specific to your industry, try a search online for "needs analysis" with your general line of business for a host of results.

The Key to Generating Income from a Free Needs Analysis

The problem with offering these consultative specials for free is that oftentimes, businesses or individuals will take you up on your free needs analysis offer, but won't knock on your door for the sale. The reason why is simple: you didn't ask for it.

Yes, there may be other reasons why a potential client doesn't purchase their needs from you immediately - they don't have the cash, your fees are more than they can afford, they didn't see you as an 'expert' in the field, or they really have no need for your information but couldn't help getting something for free. But we aren't talking about those folks.

The ones who DO need the consultative information you've provided need to know what you can offer them, and how. Many a business owner has lost a sale because they were too "shy" or self-concious with crucial information that would sway a decision-maker to their favor.

Simply tell them. If you can increase the "romance quotient" in their spa because of your long-lasting, paraben-free candles - tell them. Use whatever your particular USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is, and sell it.

If you can follow these tips, you'll be shocked (as I was) with your free needs analysis results and how well this tactic helps you to make more money without spending a dime.

Now on to Day Twelve!

Posted by Bonny Albo

What: “The Power of Marketing & Branding Professional Services: When the Product is Invisible, the Package IS the Product”

Speaker: Mark Merenda, SmartMarketing

Date: Thursday, January 18, 2007

Time: 5pm PST / 6pm MST / 7pm CST / 8pm EST

Length: 1 hour

Cost: FREE!

To Register: http://www.VirtualAssistantNetworking.com/teleclass-registration.htm

In marketing, when a product is invisible, or when a product is a commodity (like tea), then the packaging becomes all important.

That’s true for any professional service. The longer the business image says “struggling professional” or "amateur," the longer the struggle. People listen with their eyes. A business must look as great as it is - or better.

In this powerful presentation, Mark Merenda of SmartMarketing explains the importance of marketing and branding in a not heard before presentation. Just a few of the concepts that will be covered include:

• Why image is vitally important to professional service businesses
• How clients "listen" with their eyes and what image is telling them
• The power of first impressions and how quickly and lastingly they are formed
• Why investing in business image is one of the smartest revenue-generating moves to make

Plus more, with whatever questions come up.

This teleclass is aimed at Virtual Assistants; however, all professional service providers who have struggled with justifying the expenditure of funds on marketing and branding will benefit from the information presented and are welcome to attend.

About Mark Merenda, SmartMarketing

Mark Merenda founded Smart Marketing in 1994 after leaving a post in corporate America as president of a $17 million-a-year software company. Since that time he has built Smart Marketing into one of the country's premier marketing firms for financial professionals and attorneys. Visit Mark's blog at http://smartblog.typepad.com

ABOUT THE VACOC

The Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce is a professional association of Virtual Assistants worldwide dedicated to helping Virtual Assistants build smarter, more successful businesses, and providing free tools and resources for business owners to connect with qualified, professional Virtual Assistants. For more information or to join, visit http://www.VirtualAssistantNetworking.com

Posted by Bonny Albo

If this is your first time visiting the thirty-day Make Money without Spending a Dime Challenge - Welcome! If you want to start from the beginning, you'll find the first posting here, and a list of all of the challenges to date here. Also, don't forget to join in the discussions.

One of the most important aspects of marketing your business venture is keeping the customers you already have - because we all know already that it's much harder to win one back that has left upset or disallusioned.

An easy and extremely inexpensive way to do this is by creating an online customer satisfaction survey. Why online instead of cold calling them and asking them directly?

• Your spiel will be the same with every customer satisfaction survey each and every time.
• It's very easy to get a large number of responses quickly.
• Online customer satisfaction surveys tabulate themselves, with no need to chart or analyze any satistical information yourself.
• Offers yet another way to interact with your clients without lifting a finger.
• For those with websites already, it's free to set up other than approximately an hour of your web developers' time (or less).
• Online customer satisfaction surveys are non-instrusive.
• Provides anonymity to your clients to they can be truthful about the positives and negatives of your business operations.
• Convience - your customers can answer questions whenever they feel like it, not when you happened to call.
• How long would it take you to call fifteen customers? Conversely, how long do you think it would take for fifteen customers to fill out an online customer satisfaction survey?

So without further ado, I'm going to discuss how to find customer satisfaction surveys to model your own after, how to write a customer satisfaction survey, and what to do with the results.

Step One: Clarify Your Objectives

Why are you undertaking a customer satisfaction survey in the first place? Do you want more information about how your products or services are viewed in the marketplace? Do you want to let your clients know you care about their opinions? Are you looking for new ways to stay in touch without being in their face constantly? Anything in between?

No matter what your reasons, find clarity in your purpose.

Step Two: Who is Going to Perform the Customer Satisfaction Survey?

Yes, you can create and run a customer satisfaction survey yourself, or you can outsource to one of the many companies that provide these services - it's up to you. Some online versions to review in your search:

• EZ Survey - for those with a website already, $400+
• Zoomerang - free trial, no website required
• PollCat - free and paid versions, with or without a website
• SurveyMonkey - free (10 questions & 100 respondents), or paid ($19.95/month)

Step Three: Simple and Sweet Finds Success

Since you are asking your clients to do you a favor by filling out a customer satisfaction survey, be kind with their time. Don't ask more than ten questions unless you absolutely MUST, and make the whole process so quick and easy that they don't even remember it the next day.

Get your staff or family members to try it out, first, just to see how easy it is. If there is a glitch - fix it. Because the easier it is to finish, the more responses you'll receive.

Step Four: Provide Variety with Your Questions

Most online customer satisfaction surveys allow for several different question types, such as:

• multiple choice
• choose one or more from a list
• fill in the blank(s)
• rate on a 1-5 (or similar) scale
• open-ended questions with a fill-in text box

Try and offer some questions in all of the categories if you can, without focusing too much on one or another.

Step Five: Send It!

Your mailout list, staff, a purchased opt-in list of subscribers... whatever it is, just send it.

Step Six: Correct and Update

From the first day or so you'll get usable feedback with which to update and correct problems in your survey or the way you run your business. As soon as you see a trend - change it. Again, back to step #3 - any bugs or snaggly bits will impede your process. Remove them at all costs.

Step Seven: Analyze Your Results

Once you've given it a week or two for all of the answers to come in, review the results. What do they tell you? Focus on more than just the statistical information (although this it very important as well). Rather, how do the open ended questions "feel"? What is your gut saying? Don't ignore any of these results, concrete or otherwise.

Step Eight: Make Changes

Nobody's perfect, and neither is your business. Take stock of your customer satsifaction survey and change as much as possible. Of course, test any massive changes before rolling them out on a large scale.

Step Nine: Take Your Results and Monetize Them

Other businesses want the kind of information you've collected - and they'll pay you for it. Hire a freelance copywriter to review, rehash and report the results of your survey. Then you can offer it as a thank you to your clients, as a special report to a business journal or to the internet populace as a whole.

Step Ten: Do It Again

Using some of the survey mechanisms listed above, you can get a survey done for next to nothing or free. Although overburdening your clients and asking them too often for their opinions isn't a great idea either, try and touch base with how you are meeting their needs at least twice a year.

All in all, customer satisfaction surveys are an excellent way to increase your business sales by staying close to what's important to your customer, no matter what the results show.

Ready for more suggestions on how to make money without spending a dime?

Posted by Bonny Albo

Pick a couple of keywords that you feel are the best suited to your business and also have a high KEI rating with low competitiveness and let’s get started.

Article Writing: The Title

Starting with the title, pick the keyword that has the best ranking among the couple that you chose. Now create a title based around that keyword, although you can incorporate more if you are able. Your title should be descriptive, offer a solution or pose a question that would interest your target reader.

Article Writing: The First Paragraph

Next, write your first sentence. You need to incorporate the keyword used in the title of your article, as well as one more keyword if you can without sounding unnatural. Using a statistic, popular misconception or telling the reader what you are going to cover are all great ways to get a readers attention. This can take a couple of sentences, but make sure that you have that keyword positioned in the first one for higher search engine rankings.

Article Writing: The Body

The body of your article should tell your reader whatever you have promised in your title and opening paragraph. If you are writing a 500 word article (the current standard), three to five smaller paragraphs are appropriate. Ensure that you’ve placed each of your keywords in every paragraph at least once. If you are having a hard time incorporating each keyword, use a bolded header for each paragraph (like what I’ve done with this article).

Article Writing: The Conclusion

Your last paragraph should tie up all of the loose ends in your article, summarize what you’ve said and also incorporate at least one of your keywords (preferably the same one you used in the title and first sentence).

Read over what you’ve finished. If everything flows well (i.e. the keywords don’t seem like words placed for search engine enhancement), then you are ready for the next step, which is ensuring that your articles are chock-full of content that is useful to your reader.

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This article is number three in a seven-part series on Article Writing for Search Engine Traffic. You can start from the beginning here, or read the next article in the series: Web Content is Still King.

Posted by Bonny Albo

If this is your first time visiting the thirty-day Make Money without Spending a Dime Challenge - Welcome! If you want to start from the beginning, you'll find the first posting here, and a list of all of the challenges to date here as well as the rest of the Article Writing for Web Traffic series. Also, don't forget to join in the discussions.

By choosing and using the right combination of words, you can attract an enormous amount of attention online that otherwise would be focused elsewhere.

First, look at all of the words that you could use to describe your product or service. About ten or so should do. If you cannot think of ten, take a look at either your website’s meta tags or your competitor’s meta tags by opening up the webpage in your browser and then viewing the source (View ? Source in Internet Explorer). Open the file in a text editor (such as Notepad) and scroll down to where you see the words “meta tags”. Review the list of words there and add or delete words to your list as required.

Once you have a list, open up your favorite spreadsheet program and place all of the individual words in a column to themselves. Label this column Keywords. Now label the next columns, in order, Searches, Competition, KEI and Notes.

Once you’ve finished, open up a free keyword selector tool such as this one and plug in the first of your keywords. Click on the analyze button and in a couple of seconds you’ll have a large list of words related to the keyword you chose. Quickly scan them and add any word (or word combinations) that interest you to your list. Then look at the “searches this month” total (in this case, the higher the better; anything less than a 100 should be omitted for now). Add whatever number appears to the corresponding keyword(s) in the Searches column.

Next, open up your favorite search engine and plunk in the first keyword on your list with apostrophes surrounding it. As an example, if your keyword is animal trainer, you would type “animal trainer” into the search engine. Take a look at the number of websites returned that match your keywords and then type that number into your Competition column. These are the websites that have targeted the same keywords you are reviewing, and therefore they are your direct competition. The fewer competitors you have for any given keyword, the better.

Now it’s time to type in a calculation into the KEI column that calculates the square of the Searches number divided by the Competition. Stated another way, if Searches is the B column and Competition is column C and you are calculating the KEI of the second row, your calculation would look like this: =B2*B2/C2. Copy and paste this calculation into each KEI column and a number should appear.

Sort your spreadsheet by the KEI column in descending order (so the highest numbers are at the top). Your best keywords are now quite obvious: the higher the KEI the better (anything with a score of over 50 is good and anything with a score over 1,000 is excellent), and the less competition the better. Therefore, if you have a keyword that offers a score of 534 but it has over a million competitors, choose another instead.

Now that you have a list of keywords that are enticing both to your potential readers and the search engines, it’s time to learn what to do with those keywords in your articles.

Posted by Bonny Albo

If this is your first time visiting the thirty-day Make Money without Spending a Dime Challenge - Welcome! If you want to start from the beginning, you'll find the first posting here, and a list of all of the challenges to date here and the entire Article Writing for Search Engine Traffic Series here. Also, don't forget to join in the discussions.

Today I'm lazy. I'm feeling a bit under the weather and I spent more time reading than anything anything else. I don't have much to report on my progress.

I do, however, have a seven-part article series on SEO Article Writing I want to share. Here's part one; the rest will be posted within the next couple of days in addition to my daily posts. - Bonny

Article Writing for Search Engine Traffic, Part 1: Benefits and Reasoning

Article writing is one of easiest, simplest ways to get new potential customers to visit your website. Not only does it position your company (and you) as an expert in your field, it also provides free advertising, increases your search engine hits and gathers backlinks to your website.

Sharing Your Expert Knowledge

If you provide a product or service on the Internet, you are probably an expert in the topic already. Why not share this knowledge with others? You do not have to give away trade secrets or wholesale sources, but you can inform a total stranger about a myriad of aspects about your business. The intent is to provide informative content that lets the reader know you know what you are talking about, which builds trust. And when a customer trusts you, they remember you when it’s time to make a purchasing decision.

Positioning yourself as an expert has many benefits to the business owner, some of which aren’t readily apparent until months or years down the road. I will never forget the day that I received a phone call from a major newspaper asking me my opinion on a newsworthy subject relevant to my business; not only did it build instant credibility with anyone who read the final piece, but it drew in customers I never would have found on my own. Plus, I use that newspaper copy in all of my testimonials and sales pieces to further support my expert status.

Using Search Engines To Your Benefit

If you choose to write keyword-optimized articles (a descriptive how-to is provided later in this series), you will let those using the search engines know that the information you are offering is right up their alley. Although some skill and time is required to do this well, the long-term benefits are obvious: if you can target your articles to a highly searched keyword, you can attract thousands (or even millions) to your website.

Gathering Backlinks

Most website owners are acutely aware of their Google PR and Alexa ratings. One of the ways to increase your rating (and therefore search engine hits) is to have higher-rated websites link to yours. The easiest way to do this is to write an informative article and then submit it to these websites. Whether they are article submission sites, online magazines or even related businesses you can quickly change how the search engines link to you by gathering a high number of high quality backlinks.

Discovering Free Advertising

Press releases used to the ultimate way to get lots of attention focused on your business. Writing articles is the new press release but without the sales pitch. Unless you choose to pay someone else to write articles for you (which we will also discuss later in this series), all that you have to lose is a couple of hours of your time to gain a whole lot of benefit.

Now that you understand more about what article writing can do for you and how it can improve your search engine rankings, increase visitor numbers to your website and position you as the head honcho in your field, you’re ready to move to the next step of the article writing process: determining what keywords to use.

Posted by Bonny Albo

If this is your first time visiting the thirty-day Make Money without Spending a Dime Challenge - Welcome! If you want to start from the beginning, you'll find the first posting here, and a list of all of the challenges to date here. Also, don't forget to join in the discussions.

Almost seven percent of the U.S. population read a blog in the past thirty days, according to Mediamark Research Inc.'s Fall 2006 survey. Sure, that's nowhere near the saturation rate of say, shopping (34.2%) or reading the news (40.2%), but it marks a one-year increase of over 150% of users. Fad or otherwise, blogs are big business and only have room to grow. Therefore, it behooves all entrepreneurs to get one, fast, for their business and start using it.

Why Blog?

If you aren't already convinced, here are some more benefits to blogging for your business:

• If you keep your blog current and full of unique and interesting content, you will quickly position yourself as an expert online in your niche of choice.
• By focusing on your blog, you are telling your customers that your relationship with them is important - almost as much as making a sale. Build those relationships to build your business for the long term.
• Send out a press release to the media and they may call you for questions. Post a link to your blog and they may just find the gold mine of information they need without lifting a finger.
• Blogging is an excellent marketing tool for testing new ideas, products, services and theories. Your readers will quickly tell you if something is amazing or a bust, and you don't have to invest anything more than a couple of minutes typing to find out.
• Search engines love updated content. Your site will rank higher with your chosen keywords when you use a blog.

Getting a Blog

There are oodles of free blogging sites that allow anyone to sign up and start blogging immediately (WordPress, Blogger, LiveJournal) using their own interface and hosting space. It takes, literally, minutes to get started. For those looking for a more seamless transfer from their own business site to a blog, look at WordPress to download their open source option, or TypePad for their paid services.

Once you've set yourself up, create links back to your site (and vice versa) and start blogging as soon as you can. If at all possible, blog every day, even if it's only a couple of sentences. If you want more guidance, visit Business Week for a great article on the subject.

Blog Marketing

Just like with your website, you need to let the world know your blog exists.

First, find out what your RSS feed [definition & how-to] link is. Then do a search for submitting your RSS feed [I used this link myself] and get to work. Yes, you could purchase a program that does this for you - but we're making money without spending a dime, remember?

Next, you'll want to find the big blog directories or social bookmarking sites like Technorati, Digg, del.icio.us. I can't go into how to get listed on all of them here as they all differ dramatically. However, it is well worth your while to get listed at all of them - and once it's done, it's done. Your newest blog postings will be automatically updated at all of these sites each time you post. Pretty incredible.

After you've got a couple of blog postings that are really stellar in your niche, I highly recommend you join a blog carnival. Blog carnivals are blogs that post about other blogs in a similar topic area all at once - almost like a newspaper of information about your chosen topic all in one place. As an example, just today this entrepreneurs blog was featured in Benjamin Yoskovitz's Carnival of Entrepreneurs. If I'm lucky, I'll host one of the carnivals next month, bringing even more traffic to my and all of the other participant's sites.

You may ask - is this all worth it? Is blogging and blog marketing really something that will bring in customers and get them to spend money?

In my experience so far, the answer is yes. Although I'm finding it hard to track who is contacting me from where because of all of the buzz I'm creating with this challenge, I've had several who I know clicked on links from this blog to my email address, asking me if I'd look at some advertising copy or write an eBook for them.

I must say though, blog marketing is hard work. I think I may take a bit of a break tomorrow.

Technorati Tags:blog marketing blogging business blog RSS social bookmarking

Posted by Bonny Albo

If this is your first time visiting the thirty-day Make Money without Spending a Dime Challenge - Welcome! If you want to start from the beginning, you'll find the first posting here, and a list of all of the make money challenges to date here. Also, don't forget to join in the discussions.

My only goal today was to edit and redesign an internet marketing ebook for my seo copywriting business, which I planned to offer for free to my target market: small and home business owners. I found some free templates online for content, but found what I already had tucked away in my saved files to be of more use. I also wanted to get some artwork in the internet marketing ebook to snazz things up a bit, but wasn't too sure where to look without being virus bombed - or worse - not finding what I needed after hours of work. Instead, I used some free credits over at iStockPhoto I had left over from another project. Even if I did have to pay, the small artwork only costs $1 - a small price, especially when you know finding what you need would be a days-long headache otherwise.

Problem was, I didn't get it done. The RSS aggregator I set up over at Google was overloaded with copywriting and marketing leads (see Day Two for a how-to), I had a bit of planning to do for my meeting with the Okanagan Home Business Association, I had several emails to follow up with from forum postings I made, and I wanted to participate in a couple of marketing conference calls to get more ideas for this Make Money without Spending a Dime Challenge.

I also got sidetracked a couple of times; most notably with other free internet marketing eBooks, such as Joan Stewart's Best of the Publicity Hound's Tip of the Week and Chris Marlow's 10 Steps to Landing High-Quality, High-Value Clients. The material in these ebooks are a week alone of tips and practical suggestions to get started with today. I'll blog more about what I learned later this week from these gurus, and others.

Back to the point of this posting, however: how and why to create internet marketing ebooks for profit.

Creating eBooks are simple if you are a web site copywriter like myself, because you already know what your target market needs, and what kinds of questions they ask. In fact, if you've done your market research properly or have been in business for a while, you'll know exactly what questions get asked constantly - and that's what you should focus on in your eBook. That way, when you are asked the same thing - yet again - all you have to do is forward them a copy of your internet marketing ebook, and voila! Problem solved.

If you aren't a writer, or don't have time to create something from scratch, that's okay too. Hire an seo copywriter, compile an eBook from article sites like EzineArticles (making sure to keep the blurb at the end of the pieces you use intact), or scour the web for other business owners like yourself who are willing to give you resale rights to their internet marketing eBooks. The choice is up to you.

The key, however, once you've compiled the information, created a table of contents (both Word and Open Office's Writer do a great jobs) and transferred the information into a PDF file (try SmartPDF, it's free), you need to distribute it. How?

Find your target market. What associations or clubs do they belong to? Where do they hang out online and off? Find those places, then make sure that your eBook is placed somewhere where they can easily download it. Contact the association's newsletter writer or publicity chairman, contact the local Chamber of Commerce, talk to newspaper or magazine editors... you get my drift.

I'd highly recommend setting up an autoresponder to take care of the internet marketing eBook requests however. You may be deluged with more requests that you can handle.

Alas, the deluge will have to wait until tomorrow for me, since I didn't get my internet marketing ebook edited and redesigned. Yet.

Technorati Tags: internet marketing, business leads, internet marketing ebooks, make money, money making, bootstrapping, free publicity, copywriting, free marketing, publicity ideas, entrepreneurs, small business, home business, homebased business.

Posted by Bonny Albo

If this is your first time visiting the thirty-day Make Money without Spending a Dime Challenge - Welcome! If you want to start from the beginning, you'll find the first posting here, and a list of all of the challenges to date here. Also, don't forget to join in the discussions and let me know what you think.

I woke up today and felt like doing absolutely nothing - which told me I needed to take the day to myself and work on some stress relief techniques.

It wasn't even that I felt stressed persay, but rather what I didn't feel that concerned me. Upon awakening I didn't feel my usual "get up and go" that I normally did. I didn't get up, start the computer and get Eudora running while I made myself some cinnamon tea like I normally did. (Routines and daily task lists are incredibly important for business success BTW). Instead, I just wanted to lounge around and... do nothing.

So for a while, I did. Sure, I checked my emails, and was thrilled to see that I had an appointment with the Okanagan Home Based Business Association to discuss speaking at one of their upcoming meetings. I also had tons of automated feeds from Google and Indeed, telling me about the keywords I had punched in on Day Two. Did I really want to read through them though? Nope.

Instead, I went back to bed and did some breathing exercises. It probably looked like I was sleeping, but in reality I was trying to restart my day with a better mindset, using a well-known stress relief technique. I felt noticeably better upon arising the second time - but still not very motivated.

A walk didn't help much either, although the spring-like air did make my lungs feel fantastic. Reading something inspiring was nice, but again, I couldn't focus for more than a couple of minutes at a time. My eyes were feeling the stress of spending too much time in front of a computer, so I forced myself to do a search for "cyber eyes" and then took the principles to heart. All roads were leading to relaxation and more stress relief techniques.

Next, I ate an amazing stir fry with poached whitefish for breakfast (made by a good friend of mine who realized I needed something nutritious but was too lazy to do it myself). Just the act of eating made me feel incredible. Perhaps my mood was merely due to low blood sugar.

Then I had a hot shower and performed a bit of shiatsu on myself while in there. The rest of the day was spent knitting, a hobby I am just learning but absolutely love.

By the time I was ready to hit the hay, I had to check my email again, remembering a study I read years ago. It said those who checked their email more than eight times a day were creating the same amount of brain loss as a night out of heavy drinking. I couldn't find the study today to share, so perhaps it was an old wives' tale, but I still felt good knowing I had checked it infrequently at best on my day of stress relief.

I think I'm ready for Day Five now.

Technorati Tags: stress relief, shiatsu, stress relief techniques, make money, money making, bootstrapping, free publicity, copywriting, free marketing, publicity ideas, entrepreneurs, small business, home business, homebased business.

Posted by Bonny Albo

If this is your first time visiting the thirty-day Make Money without Spending a Dime Challenge - Welcome! If you want to start from the beginning, you'll find the first posting here, and a list of all of the challenges to date here. Also, don't forget to join in the discussions and let me know what you think.

Day three wasn't a very busy day for me, I'll admit. It was a Friday, and I normally try to spend time with friends and family on Fridays, so I did. Sure, I sent and responded to a few emails and posted a couple more advertisements on Craiglist (see Day Two for the details), but nothing earth-shattering.

Since I started some portions of this challenge before the "official" thirty days began however, I might as well explain one the most important freebies I found in my search to make money without spending a dime: free web page hosting.

I'll spare you the details of how tedious the search was and merely give you the nitty gritty how-to and who to go to.

Step One: Sign Up with Commission Junction

If you haven't already, sign up with Commission Junction, an enormous affiliate marketing conglomerate. These types of companies (Link Share is another) compile thousands of affiliate programs into one simpler interface, so you can earn residual income with numerous affiliates without the mess and fuss of different systems.

Step Two: Find BlueHost

BlueHost isn't a free web hosting company; they offer full web hosting packages for $6.95/month when you sign up for 24 months (or 7.95/month for one year). However, their current affiliate program through Commission Junction is a "$90.00 commission payout" for each sale, with features that include:

• Free Domain (1 and 2 year plan)
• Free Setup (1 and 2 year plan),
• 200 Gigs of Storage Space (New)
• 2,000 Gigs of Transfer (New)
• 2500 E-Mail Accounts (New)
• SSH, Perl, MySQL, FrontPage Extension Support
• Fantastico
• Web Site Builder
• Free Marketing Services and more.

Since the entire cost of a one-year fee is $95.40, well it's as free as you'll get (please note that when I signed up the payout was $100 - so I actually MADE money). Plus, unlike many other web hosting companies on Commission Junction, BlueHost supports their affiliates doing exactly what I did.

Step Three: Set Up Your Free Web Host Website

You've got a couple of options now, depending on your skill and time frame. I chose to download NVU, an open source web authoring system, complete with free online support. Then I downloaded a free website template from Open Source Web Design. For those with less time or savvy, use BlueHost's free web site builder, which is intuitive and provides a fairly great looking end result. Another tech-savvy option includes using an open source CMS like Mambo. And don't forget, you'll get a free eBook about Getting Your Business Online when you sign up for my free weekly newsletter.

Step Four: Get a Logo

I'm a writer, not a designer, so I was unsure about what I could along these lines for free. Then I found LogoMaker, a snazzy little program that lets you design you own logo and use it online, all for free. I'll admit I played around here for more than a couple of hours, but I had a blast figuring out a professional yet funky image for my company. Plus, if I ever want to use the logo on business cards or other printed works, I only pay $9 USD. Not bad for a bootstrapper.

On to Day Four!

Technorati Tags: free webhosting, free website, free webpage hosting, make money, money making, bootstrapping, free publicity, copywriting, free marketing, publicity ideas, entrepreneurs, small business, home business, homebased business.

Posted by Bonny Albo

If this is your first time visiting the thirty-day Make Money without Spending a Dime Challenge - Welcome! If you want to start from the beginning, you'll find the first posting here, and a list of all of the challenges to date here. Also, don't forget to join in the discussions and let me know what you think.

I'm not terribly familiar with email marketing techniques other than the autoresponder copy I've written for clients in the past. In fact, I've shied away from email marketing work in the past, mostly because I didn't feel great about adding more to the spam pileup in most of our mailboxes.

After doing a bit of reading late last night and most of today however, I've changed my tune somewhat. Email marketing is a tough business, but when done ethically (such as opt-in newsletters), can be extremely effective (provided you've got a great copywriting and design team on your side).

Well, I'm an seo copywriter - a writer who creates advertisements, sales letters, ghostwritten articles and any other online, search engine optimized content that a business may require. So it stands to reason I'd excel at this type of money making challenge, right?

After a few butterflies flitted off, I decided I wouldn't "cold" email anyone - yet - (i.e. contacting someone out of the blue who I had no previous interaction with to advise them of my services). Instead, I'd review online postings for copywriters, responding to each and every one with an easily customizable piece to let them know I had the skills and knowledge to get the job done.

[Note: This is a tactic that can be used by any business owner, although some may have more success than others depending on their business structure. Wholesalers and retailers can review auction postings where many large companies post their URLs (where you can find their contact information and send a quick note about a product they've been looking for), and consultants and service providers can review free classified postings.]

Before looking online for "warm" email recipients, I crafted my cover letter, ensured my webpage was in tiptop shape, and vamped up my business resume so all I'd have to do was change the specifics in the cover letter and send the entire package immediately.

My cover letter took the most amount of time, yet ended up being only a measly two paragraphs in length. I opened with leading questions that explained the benefits of using me as their copywriter, left the middle for a sentence about my experience, and ended with urgency and a call to action such as, "If you need a writer now, contact me and we can get started immediately".

Then I went looking for local, national and international websites that offered free classifieds. After determining that there were too many to visit (several thousand just on Craigslist alone!), I took the suggestion of one of the Six Figure Writers and used Indeed instead. Indeed (which incidentally also has a smaller, Canadian version) searches your keywords for job postings and presents them in order of date or relevancy. The fact that it searches Craigslist is a huge time saver, especially for those businesses like my own that potentially cater to a national or international audience.

I took a couple of minutes to search their database for "freelance writer" and "freelance copywriter" which did an okay (but not excellent) job of providing me with potential leads - one of which I applied for. Incidentally, I received a request for a quote from that person less than three hours later. Mind you it was the only lead from hundreds of results...

Well, kind of. I noticed several postings were from the same website, so I visited that site too. It was job posting site exclusively for bloggers, so I reviewed their listings and sent off a couple of emails. Next I hit Deborah Ing's daily list of freelance writing jobs, found a couple more leads, and decided it was time to move on, but not before adding a couple of Google Alerts for similar keywords.

My last money making email was sent to a local college department head asking for continuing education instructors. I was told the person in charge of the writing programs is on holidays, but will get back to me shortly.

Then I took a break. I had spent over five hours on the computer already!

Upon my return to the computer monitor several hours later, I had a surprising number of emails in my mailbox. One was from an individual I contacted on the blogging recruitment site offering me an ongoing gig, starting immediately. One (previously mentioned) asked for a quote, and two for additional samples.

Two days and sixteen "warm" emails later, the Making Money Without Spending a Dime Challenge is already a success. I've got one ongoing blogging project, and a response rate of just over 3%!

I can't wait for tomorrow!

Technorati Tags: email marketing, business leads, email marketing techniques, make money, money making, bootstrapping, free publicity, copywriting, free marketing, publicity ideas, entrepreneurs, small business, home business, homebased business.

Posted by Bonny Albo

My dreams of making money without spending a dime started with a decade-old business, long since dead, that had me trying to sell children's clothing online. I had few web design skills, no knowledge of SEO practices, but a love for learning and a breastfeeding child whom I wanted to stay close to. Unfortunately the project didn't work out (supplier issues), but my desire for money making business marketing schemes didn't die as easily.

It's 2007, Web 2.0 is here, and the opportunities to market myself and my copywriting and marketing business are endless. Sure, I could do it and blow a wad of cash, but isn't it more interesting and exciting to do without?

So here is my plan: I will not spend ANY money on marketing, publicity or advertising for my business for a full thirty days. In fact, I will not spend one penny of my money on my business at all for the entirety of this business marketing project. By doing so I will prove, once and for all, it IS possible to build and grow a business on nothing and have a great time doing it.

Here is what I am starting with:

• A fully-functioning website [here]. The logo, site and hosting were all procured for free, but I'll get into those details over the next couple of days.
• Open Office, an open source program offering free database, calculator, spreadsheet, word processing and presentation modules.
• Internet access. Okay, this technically costs me money, but I have no idea how much exactly since it comes as a part of my all-inclusive rent.

In order to make money however, I realize that I need to have a marketing plan (these free marketing plan templates will come in handy) and ways with which to communicate with my clients. [Since I cannot spend any money, I won't be using my cell phone for calls, but rather will redirect all inquiries to my work email address for the month.]

So. On Day One of the Make Money Without Spending a Dime Challenge, I have:

• Emailed seven potential clients found through online databases for work;
• Responded to one of the above potential clients for a quote;
• Emailed a local home business organization to offer speaking services;
• Compiled a list of local business URLs and started to input them into Base (Open Office's database program);
• Reviewed the book, "6 Steps to Free Publicity" by Marcia Yudkin;
• Emailed eight Canadian home business organizations to offer free reprints of articles that may be of use to their readers;
• Researched free business card printers (didn't find any that were truly free);
• Scanned through several business marketing eBooks;
• Researched keywords; and
• Surfed the web for advertising copy ideas.

Do you have creative money making suggestions I should try? Think the Making Money Without Spending a Dime Challenge is silly, stupid or impossible? Are you willing to exchange marketing techniques or, better yet, barter services to assist with the ultimate goal of Making Money Without Spending a Dime? Post here and let me know what you really think.

Read to move onto Day Two?

Technorati Tags: make money, money making, bootstrapping, free publicity, copywriting, free marketing, publicity ideas, entrepreneurs, small business, home business, homebased business.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Not one or two, but rather, three is the magic number of women when it comes to corporate boards, according to a recently released study called Critical Mass on Corporate Boards: Why Three or More Women Enhance Governance [PDF, HTML].

Yet, according to one of the studies quoted in the research, "women held only 14.7 percent of all Fortune 500 board seats. Among the Fortune 500 companies, 53 still had no women on their boards, 182 had one woman, 189 had two and only 76 has three or more women directors" (2005 Catalyst Census of Women Board Directors of the Fortune 500).

But why does having three or more women on a businesses' board matter? After speaking with fifty women directors, twelve CEOs and seven corporate secretaries from Fortune 500 companies and analyzing the data, the study showed that anything less made women more aware of their "minority" status. As well, more women serving on these boards seemed to enhance problem-solving and collaboration.

Posted by Bonny Albo

In most of the cities I've lived in over the years, each community has required business registration. Ranging anywhere from $30-150/year, the benefits to registration have differed dramatically well. In fact, most of my experiences have been: register or else the taxman will come a' knockin'.

This seems to be one of the debates in West Warwick's city hall at the moment, where concerns range from not knowing what type of businesses people are running to tax evasion to police concerns. Their main problem, however, is enforcement - as is the issue with most communities. How do you prove someone is running a business, and if they are, how do you force them to pay a set fee and register?

Many business owners find that local business registrations are only cash cows for the city (which incidentally was also mentioned in the West Warwick meeting), while others find their fees a valuable contribution to the community in which they are housed.

What's your take? Feel free to discuss your ideas and opinions here.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Until January 31st, American citizens over the age of 21 can submit their business plans to Ace Hardware's Dream Ace contest, where the winner receives a store of their own to operate, at a value of one million dollars.

"We're selecting winners on the basis of how business-minded they are," said Ace spokeswoman Amanda Rucker. "We'll conduct a series of interviews, and applicants will be required to submit a business plan."

The fine print shows some interesting "Continuing Eligibility" requirements":

Contestants will be required to execute and deliver:

• (i) affidavits confirming eligibility and compliance with these Official Rules,
• (ii) permission, as needed, for background and credit checks for Contestant and related individuals as Sponsor determines necessary,
• (iii) acceptance of Code of Conduct (a copy of which is posted at www.dreamacehardware.com),
• (iv) liability releases,
• (v) publicity releases,
• (vi) copyright assignments, and
• (vii) such other documents and personal information as may be reasonably requested by Sponsor (collectively all or any combination of such documents may be referred to in these Official Rules as “Contest Affidavits and Releases”).

Additionally, to make it to stage two of this entrepreneurship contest, entrants need to finish the online entry form (3, 100 word essays) and test in less than forty-five minutes.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Since 1997 I've had an Internet presence of some sort that required online advertising. An online children's clothing store, columnist for several different online magazines, blogging my life stories, and now running my own copywriting business have all required some form of marketing or advertising to gain readers, clients or customers.

I'll admit though: ten years ago online advertising was a lot easier than it is now. Then, all I had to do was carefully target my content, then submit my pages to the search engines and voila! I had 60,000 unique visitors a month. Now, I can spend hours and hours learning search engine algorithms or tweaking keyphrases and still have little to show for it.

As one of my new years resolutions, I've decided that I need to target my online advertising methods more to gain better results for my time. This means learning more about what works, removing the things that don't, and spending as little as I can financially on getting there, while still understanding I'll have to pay something or other to get results (time, money, effort...).

I've decided my first try at free online advertising will be Craigslist, using the ideas suggested in an article by Entrepreneur Magazine writer Shannon Lewis (article reproduced in the Online Advertising discussion group). I'll post soon and let you know just how well Craigslist ads work for the small business owner.

Posted by Bonny Albo

One of the most important parts of becoming a successful entrepreneur, in my view, is learning from others. Whether as a business mentor, networking group or merely reading an article about other small business owners, lifelong learning from those who have walked in your shoes already is important for community building and entrepreneurial success.

With this in mind, I'm looking to meet with and interview (virtually) business owners for the article section of the Entrepreneurs website.

Criteria:

• You must have started your own business and successfully run it for at least one year;
• Be available for two hours in a one week period to answer interview questions;
• Willing to answer reader questions in our discussion forums after the interview has been posted; and
• Have a photo of yourself to post online, along with a link on how to get more information about you or your business.

I am particularly interested in work at home businesses, gay entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs, teen entrepreneurs, Internet entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs who started late in life. However, any entrepreneur who fits the criteria above are more than welcome to email me with the following information to get the ball rolling:

• Your full name, location and any other personal information relevant to an interview;
• A paragraph about your business mission, values or goals;
• A paragraph about how your business found success;
• What your business still struggles with today; and
• Any other information you feel is applicable.

Although I cannot respond to all inquiries, I will do my best to answer each and every interview request.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Winning an business contest provides your small business with many benefits: free publicity and advertising, cash, and prizes related to running your own business. Some contests are a one-click type of event (enter your name and address here), others are more in-depth (with essays, interviews or months-long elimination processes).

This is the most complete list of business contests I could find to assist you in building, growing or creating your own business. If you feel I've missed one, please post it here. All business contests are arranged by deadline date for entry.

Ongoing Deadlines

• Inc's Entrepreneur of the Year
• Make Mine a Million US-based women entrepreneurs looking to make a million dollars with their small business idea. Similar to the Apprentice.

January Business Contests

• 15: Visa Business Contest, for Visa business card holders. One-click entry.
• 31: ideaWins: The Ultimate Challenge, from Microsoft. Retail US establishments only, entry gives you a free download of Microsoft Accounting 2007. Warning: choose the low bandwidth option, as the high one seems to crash a lot of people's computers.
• 31: Federation of Small Businesses' Champions, for UK-based businesses with no more than 50 employees who have been trading for a minimum of five years.

February Business Contests

• Great Ideas for Chattanooga high school students (homeschooled or otherwise).
• 14: High School Business Contest, Nebraska, Iowa, Mississippi and Kansas only.
• 15: My Own Business Contest, US resident, 18 years or older. $100 application fee. Today is the 'early registration' deadline - if the winner registers before this date, they will win an extra $5,000.
• 15: Ace Hardware for US citizens over the age of 21.
• 28: Wildfire, for UK-based youth 14-18 only.

March Business Contests

• 5: Make Mine a $Million for U.S.-based female entrepreneurs.
• 15: Southeast BIO "designed and developed to help promote the creation of new, venture-attractive life science companies based in the Southeast."
• 30: Dell Smart Business Award
• 30: Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards for business owners in the Carolinas.

April Business Contests

• 9: Bronze Quill Business Communications Contest, for all South Texas businesses.
• 30: HP Responsible Business Contest, young entrepreneurs 15-18 years old in participating countries.

May Business Contests

• 15: My Own Business Contest, US resident, 18 years or older. $100 application fee.

June Business Contests

• Anna Maria Arias Memorial Business Fund

July Business Contests

• 31: Planet Out's Entrepreneur of the Year, for gay, lesbian, transgendered or bisexual (LGBT) entrepreneurs in Canada or the US.

August Business Contests

• No listings at this time.

September Business Contests

• No listings at this time.

October Business Contests

• No listings at this time.

November Business Contests

• SBA Small Business of the Year

December Business Contests

• No listings at this time.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Why have I never calculated a break even analysis for my copywriting company? Partially, it's procrastination - a skill which I (and many other entrepreneurs) hold in abundance. Another important factor has been the "what's in it for me?" factor: why do I really need to spend more time on the backside of my business when I need to increase my marketing efforts and, in turn, the bottom line?

Well, as I am learning, in order to increase my bottom line, I need to know what the bottom line actually IS. Calculating my monthly fixed costs is the first step of determining my break even point, so here goes:

• Yearly web hosting cost: $100 USD, which calculates to approx $10/month CDN.
• Phone: $50/month
• Business license: $100 CDN yearly, for $8.33/month.
• Incidentals (computer parts, paper, photocopying): $50/month.
• Living Expenses/Salary: $2500/month.

Therefore, my total monthly fixed costs are $2638.33, rounded up to $3000. Yes, my monthly fixed costs are minimal in comparison to most business owners'.

As well, I need to determine how many hours a month I can actually write. Like all small business owners, there are daily tasks for entrepreneurs required that cannot be billed for. Therefore, I've determined that 20 hours/week, or 80 hours/month is the maximum amount of writing hours I can allocate in a month.

Now comes the break even point calculation:

Fixed monthly costs / (Unit Price - Variable Cost) = Monthly Break Even Point.

We've already determined my fixed monthly costs are approximately $3000/month. My variable costs per unit are 7.5% of the unit price (hourly fee in my case), so I've had to put in an additional calculation to determine my break even point. [As an aside, this type of break even forecasting is called Total Absorption Costing as it absorbs the fixed costs into the calculation.]

So, if I were to sell my copywriting services at a $35/hour rate (very low for the industry), I would calculate my break even point like this:

• Fixed Monthly Costs: $3000
• Hourly Rate: $35
• Cost to Produce One Hour of Work: (35/7.5%) = $32.38
• Hour of Work Divided by Monthly Costs: 92.65 hours needed a month to break even.

Since this is way above my maximum amount of writing hours a month, I obviously have to increase my fees. Let's try $50/hour (getting closer to the industry average):

• Cost to Produce One Hour of Work: (50/7.5%) = $46.25
• Hour of Work Divided by Monthly Costs: 64.86 hours needed a month to break even.

Now that looks a bit more palatable to me, working 65 hours a month instead of 90+.

And now I can play with my break even point to see how I'd manage a six figure writing income:

• Monthly income required to make $100,000: $8333.33

Therefore, monthly fixed income is rounded off to $8500.00, although I think if I want to make this kind of money I'll need a higher budget (marketing and PR), so let's go with $9000.

Hm. What would I have to charge to make this kind of copywriting cash? Let's try for $100/hour:

• Fixed Costs: $9000
• Hourly Rate: $100
• Cost to Produce One Hour of Work: (100/7.5%) = $92.50
• Hour of Work Divided by Monthly Costs: 97.26 hours a month to break even.

That's better than I thought it would be, but not good enough. I can't write that much AND garner new clients. Let's try $125/hour.

• Cost to Produce One Hour of Work: (125/7.5%) = $115.63
• Hour of Work Divided by Monthly Costs: 77.83

Bingo!

Posted by Bonny Albo

Small business startups can be nerve-wracking and difficult to endure in the best of times. When you start to run short of cash, they can be an absolute nightmare. When you're in this situation, false hopes can be especially cruel. Imagine you've reached the end of your financial rope. Then you hear about free government grants for small business. Could it be that easy?

Free government grants for small business is an enduring enticement for entrepreneurs. Many small business owners have pinned their hopes on free cash from the government. The reality is that government cash may be available, but it is rarely free. Free government grants are always meant to accomplish certain goals and encourage certain kinds of development.

There's always the chance that the needs of your small business will align with the goals of the government. If you are building a small business and are looking for free government grants to help out, here are some facts to consider.

If you're looking to make a profit in your small business, then you might have trouble finding free government grants. Most government cash is reserved for non-profit organizations or businesses that can provide new jobs to disadvantaged workers in locations that need development.

On the other hand, if your business is about developing new technology, you might have a good chance at finding free government grants. The government often uses grant programs to support the development of ideas and production of new technologies.

Free government grants have specific timelines and application procedures. Murphy's Law of Grant Writing dictates that you'll usually find the perfect free government grant one day after the proposal deadline. When it comes to grant proposals, don't count on using a note from the doctor. You'll just have to wait until the next grant cycle.

If you don't qualify for free government grants, you may qualify for cheap government loans. But there are stout application rules for these too, and the money has to be spent for the reasons you stated when you borrowed it.

Free government grants are more than a mirage in the desert. But they're not quite the Pacific Ocean over the next hill either. Theoretically, that would make free government grants the oasis, an small zone of plenty that savvy desert travelers can find with ease. With good research, a clear vision of what you want to accomplish, and a little luck, you may find that free government grants are available for your small business or to fund your development of a new idea.

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Find out more about free government grants and online directories for free government grants. Art Turner has been self-employed for over 23 years, working in marketing, strategic planning and grant writing. He is also the creator of SelfEmploymentStation.com, a destination filled with info on business startups, freelancing, consulting, working from home and self-employment.

Posted by Bonny Albo

While researching and learning more about profiting from my mistakes, I read about a young gent that made a tidy sum from writing business plans. No, he's not a professional freelance writer, nor was he a business owner at the time. Instead, he entered a business plan contest that offered large sums of start-up capital and support to the winners. I have to admit the of a business plan contest excited me, but I had little time to review the details. As a copywriter I've written several business plans for clients, assisted with teaching business plan writing courses and even gave advice to local business startups in Calgary while I still lived there. At no point however did I consider writing a business plan for profit, or as a way to garner startup capital or ongoing expense coverage for a fledgling and/or established business.

A quick search on the Internet found numerous business plan contests, which I've listed below for further reference. I was able to discern quite quickly that these contests weren't for the faint of heart, either: prize monies range from a thousand dollars to over a million, with additional perks, support, mentoring, technology and media attention to boot for the winners. Mind you, it would only be the largest of these winning sums that would finance the smallest of 'big businesses' but still - some of us do, and have, done it on a shoestring. I am very interested in hearing more about the successes of those entering (and winning) these types of contests, especially established entrepreneurs who used their prize to further their long-term business goals. Feel free to discuss your experiences or contact me with your story. Note: All business plan contests are listed by their 2007 entry dates or months, where known.

January Business Plan Contests

• Boomer Business Plan Competition open to students, entrepreneurs and current business owners.

February Business Plan Contests

• 12: Harvard Business School Business Plan Contest
• 13: The $100K Innovation Challenge at Case. Seed monies of not more than $100,000 required.
• 21: Big Bang! (affiliated with UC Davis)
• 23: IBK-Ivey Business Plan Competition for MBA of Canadian institutions only.
• 28: VenturePrize for all Albertan (Canada) residents.

March Business Plan Contests

• 11: Gwinnett Innovation Challenge 2007, "open to companies and business plan teams with ties to Gwinnett County and less than two million in annual revenues".
• 15: Melbourne University Entrepreneurs Challenge (30% of team must be registered at a Victorian university)
• 24-27: Rice University Business Plan Competition for "top collegiate" MBA students in the US.
• 26: First Capital Challengefor Kingston-based businesses (Canada).
• 27: Harvard Business School Social Enterprise Business Plan Contest, must have specific affiliation to the MBA school or program to enter.
• 29-31: Stuart Clark Venture Challenge for student teams from around the world. Winners receive a berth to the International MOOT competition in Asia.
• Venture Cup (Nordic countries only: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland)

April Business Plan Contests

• 5: LaunchPad $50K Venture Creation Competition
• 7: Brown University Entrepreneurship Program $50,000 Business Plan Competition
• 12-15: Minority Entrepreneurship Education OFC Venture Challenge
• Oxford University Business Plan Competition (no affiliation required)
• Megabucks (worldwide university students)

May Business Plan Contests

• 15: GSAS Harvard Biotechnology Club Business Plan Competition (no affiliation required)
• Wisconsin Governor's Business Plan Contest WPI Venture Forum Business Plan Contest "is open to technology-based pre-start, startup, and on-going businesses located in New England."
• Primo Intel - Mexico Innavado (Mexico-based students)

June Business Plan Contests

• None listed at this time.

July Business Plan Contests

• Nanochallenge (nanotechnology-related businesses only)

August Business Plan Contests

• Eureka! at IIT Bombay. For entrepreneurs worldwide. Top prize consists of 250 thousand Rupees.
• Global Security Challenge, "to find and select the most promising security technology startup in the world".

September Business Plan Contests

• ASU Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge for ASU students only.
• S.E.E.D. Business Plan Competition

October Business Plan Contests

• Alabama Launchpad for people somehow affiliated with one of the six Alabama-based universities. Top prize is valued at over $100,000.
• Arab Universities Technology Business Plan Contest for 2-5 Arab nationals with at least 2 members of the team registered in an Arab university.

November Business Plan Contests

• None listed at this time.

December Business Plan Contests

• Bioscience Business Plan Competition (UK university-related)
• Enterprize at the University of British Columbia, Canada. For Canadian-based university students only. Prizes in excess of $250,000 CDN.
• Small Business BC (B.C., Canada only)

Posted by Bonny Albo

If you follow my blog at all, you'll quickly notice that I'm the Princess of Procrastinators. Sometimes I'll post regularly, and other times - well, I forget, or am working on other things. It's not that I don't have anything to say [I'm a communicator, I'll admit it freely], and it's not that I don't have the time [I type well over 100 words per minute, so a posting takes minutes, at best], nor the inspiration [I find it often and in the weirdest places; writers block isn't something I've ever suffered from].

What it really comes down to is that I just don't want to. It's it infinitely more fun to get your bookkeeping in order or take the garbage out than it is dealing with a challenging client? Of course it is - or at least, it is for me. I get stuff done when I procrastinate! In fact, I probably get more done than I do when I am focused on the job at hand - more quantitatively at least.

I've noticed a spattering of articles on this exact topic of late [Procrastination Isn't Always a Bad Thing, When Procrastination Can Pay Off, How to Make Procrastination Pay Off]. I agree with these authors, and gleaned some great ideas from them too.

First of all, I find I create a hiearchy of things "to do" when I'm avoiding a certain task. i.e. I'd rather scrub the toilet than deal with my overdue accounts receivables. Usually, the toilet wins and my bathroom sparkles for another week, while my bottom line goes down the drain. Instead, I could try and tackle the "nasty" stuff first, before my day begins, avoiding the procrastination issue altogether. Hm. That might just work.

Then again, I find I do work better under a strict deadline: Chaos is my friend. Maybe I'll procrastinate some more on this research about U.S. diversity legislation and perhaps look for some new clients. Or, is Procrastination Holding Me Back? Too soon to tell.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Ah... Day One. Where all hopes are high and interest is strong. I'm interested to see just how long it takes for me to either skip a day or find success. Which comes first?

I haven't run an online retail-like business for almost 8 years now. Previously, I sold as well-known brand of children's clothing through a sort of home party system, but I chose to use the Internet as my medium instead of in-person shopping. I didn't stick with it (partially because the company restructured its payouts and changed their Internet policy), but I still get occasional emails to this day about product lines. I wonder, can I do it again?

This time around, however, I'm starting more to prove a point than to merely make cash. Several readers commented on my free eBook (the Definitive Guide to Getting Your Local Business Online) as being too much, too challenging, too high of a learning curve for the average entrepreneur who is already swamped with work.

Personally, I say bullocks! I'm a busy woman with a full-time business of my own and a personal life brimming with excuses to play instead of concentrate. If *I* can do it, in less than a month, with no cash but a lot of determination, I think any entrepreneur can. Or at least, I'm going to try and prove it.

Day One started with the decision to go with CafePress as my money-making opportunity; a type of promotional branding website that allows you to place your message onto a variety of mediums and sell it for a no-fee startup. Items can be purchased by visitors in bulk or one-at-a-time. I thought I'd come up with some sort of catchy slogans/pitches for entrepreneurs and pitch the products to non-profit business organizations looking for ways to fundraise or run promotional campaigns.

Sign up was easy (almost too easy). I added a couple of items, but will have to come up with some sort of copy before I can sell anything. I also signed up for the affiliate program and bookmarked their forum and FAQs for future reference. Then I took a peek at the Politics Portal for ideas based on other people's creativity. Hm. I have some brainstorming to do.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Surprisingly, I've had a couple of emails about the Definitive Guide to Local Business a free eBook I self-published several weeks ago after I goofed up a project with a writing client.

It seems that, although the eBook is well-formatted and easy-to-read, some users felt that imy suggestions were unattainable or unrealistic - which I found funny because they are exactly the techniques I've used to grow my own business online. I've never said getting your bricks-and-mortar business online would be quick or simple: it takes hard work or a fair amount of cash. And since I'm the frugal kind...

After talking to a couple of friends, I decided that maybe I should adapt or increase my efforts by branching out and getting some sort of retail operation running that ties in with my work - and then blog about it here on a daily basis for all readers to see, comment upon and suggest ideas and other methods of success.

So with that, I've started my own, personal, 30 day challenge: Can I start an online retail business online that requires no initial financial outlay and can make a profit in less than a month, using the techniques and suggestions provided in the Definitive Guide to Local Business and other free online resources?

Stay tuned!

Posted by Bonny Albo

If you pre-register for this special event in Toronto (I just missed the one in Vancouver last weekend), the trade show, most (but not all) of the seminars, round-table entrepreneur discussions and workshops are free.

Some of the keynote speakers (which unfortunately aren't free) include the gentleman who created the "Roll Up the Rim to Win!" marketing campaign, Ron Buist, and other familiar Canadian names in the small business world like Michael Hepworth (economist and author of "Book Yourself Solid"), Warren Coughlin (business coach) and David Chalk.

Posted by Bonny Albo

I missed the first episode, and the second. I caught a bit of the third, but not enough to whet my appetite. It seems that CBC has had some issues with advertising; I wasn't even sure when the show was playing until the last minute.

However, according to Sean Wise at Inside the Dragon's Den, the show is supposed to air on Newsworld on Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 1 a.m., 9 a.m., 11 p.m., Sundays at 6 a.m. and 4 p.m., and Mondays at 4 a.m. A bit of a motley grouping, but I think Sunday afternoons might just work. Plus, the first airings are scheduled on CBC Wednesdays at 8pm, so as long as the schedule stays that way, I'll be able to report more about the entrepreneurs and how they are faring sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, I think I'll review some of their suggested ways to get business cash in their Pitchers' Bible with the hopes of applying for season two (they aren't taking applications yet, but will shortly, probably depending on the success of season one).

Posted by Bonny Albo

I decided I had to learn some humility a couple of weeks ago when a client of mine denied a project I had toiled over. Instead of being down in the dumps about the loss to my bottom line, I chose to profit from my mistakes. I took the eBook and edited portions to suit my own needs, and am now offering it as a freebie for a limited time to this, the Entrepreneurs site, readers and viewers.

Although it may not seem like I'm going to profit from giving this eBook away, I feel that I am. It will not only drive traffic to my copywriting business, but it will also draw attention to the fact that I'm a blossoming expert in the field. Plus, I can use it as a freebie giveaway to potential clients as well. Everyone wins!

All that I ask is that you do not change or edit any portion of this free eBook for your own personal use. I own the copyright. However, you may redistribute it as you see fit as long as you also provide a link to the Entrepreneurs site (http://entrepreneurs.suite101.com/) in return. I'd appreciate a note letting me know if you are using the eBook, but it's not necessary.

So without further ado, here is the link to download The Definitive Guide to Getting Your Local Business Online (in PDF format). Enjoy!

Posted by Bonny Albo

BBC's version of the Dragon's Den is already doing extremely well, and reality-TV shows are definitely still in the hot spot with viewers around the world. So it isn't surprising then that CTV has decided to throw in their own version of Trump's entrepreneurial show.

Airing five shows in October, the idea runs on the premise that new entrepreneurs will pitch their ideas (and spend their own money) to show experienced entrepreneurs (such as Boston Pizza's Jim Treliving) that they have what it takes. Tension purpotedly have run so high on the show that the producers have begun taping the business deals after the show finished airing as an add-on in case the series becomes a huge hit. And the first business deal from the show is supposedly being signed next week.

If interested, you can read more about the Dragon's Den team members in this month's Profit Magazine here.

Posted by Bonny Albo

A recent client of mine decided, after I had written a full eBook for them, that the content was too specific for their needs. After several weeks of back-and-forth, stressful deliberations, we jointly decided to pitch the whole thing. She went elsewhere, I wasn't paid, and now I've got an essentially useless 60 page document sitting on my laptop.

Normally it takes me four weeks to write an eBook (while still working on other projects). My lost wages? Approximately $700 USD.

Needless to say, this is a larger sum for writers such as myself. How on earth could I profit from this error in judgement AND keep my sanity?

My first tactic was: get down on the floor and breathe. I needed to cleanse myself of this icky energy, and fast. So instead of getting upset and talking to whoever would listen, I practised some newfound breathing techniques from pranayama, an ancient yogic technique for controlling Prana (life force or energy).

I felt more serene and able to think clearly afterwards, so I peeked around the 'Net for what other entrepreneurs had done in similar situations for guidance. To my surprise, both the New York Times and Business Week have written recent stories on the subject. MIS Magazine even discusses how to make "deliberate mistakes that pay off".

After perusing these pieces, I felt a lot better about my predicament. Sure, I was out some money I counted on for bill-paying purposes. But I could still use the eBook and either sell it on my own or use it for another client, since the copyright was never purchased by the intially-intended end user.

Hm. I think I have some writing to do. Stay tuned for my eBook on taking your Local Business online!

Posted by Bonny Albo

If you are anything like me, your email is taking over your life. Whether you are focusing on getting through to the people you need to (customers, clients or suppliers) without being sent immediately to the trash, or rely on archaic junk mail filters to ensure you only get the news you've asked for, most entrepreneurs agree: Email overload is a serious problem.

An insightful article from the Start Up Journal (a subsidiary of the Wall Street Journal's Center for Entrepreneurs) helped me to gain some peace of mind, and it may you, too. Let me know what you think.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Does your company create waste from its manufacturing, retail operations or services? Instead of throwing whatever it is away, try instead to think about how someone else may want (or need) your waste products. This one technique may just tilt the financial picture in a more positive light.

Don't believe me? There are many examples today. One of the easiest is coffee shops. They create pounds and pounds of leftover grounds every day (a fact I distinctly remember after having managed one lovely locale in Calgary, Alberta for almost a year). I always felt guilty about throwing it all away, but I couldn't see another use for it. Then, a customer asked me for some of our used grounds, and I welcomed her request. But why? It seems that coffee grounds are excellent compost material. And thus, our waste was reduced (and the garbage bill as well).

Larger-scale waste-recycling strategies include bat guano (sold for $2 a pound for organic fertilization purposes in Ohio), recycling ink cartridges or old cell phones for cash and using worm waste and reused plastic bottles for organic fertilizer.

Posted by Bonny Albo

A recently released Gallup poll found more than three-quarters of Americans would be happier with exactly $33,000 a year more than what they currently have.

After reading this information, three questions came to mind:

• Why $33,000? Isn't that an awfully precise number?
• What about the other quarter? Are they perfectly happy with the money they are making now? Don't they want even a teensy weensy bit more?
• How do I keep my staff motivated, knowing that statistically most are unhappy with their current wage?

The answer to #1, most likely, is the fact that the data was statistically analyzed, and this was the median answer. I realize that, but it does seem like an awful lot to me.

The answer to #2? I really don't know. How do you feel about the money you earn as an entrepreneur? What about your staff? Do they ask for raises a lot, or have you lost staff to other higher-paying jobs? How do you deal with it?

What I do know however, is that most of these small business staff members (62% to be exact), although making less than desirable, feel that they are happier in the position they are in than going elsewhere (according to the same study). Which is great news for all of us entrepreneurs - motivating factors aren't always money, it seems. Thank goodness.

Technorati Tags: small business staff, wages, Gallup poll, money, SOHO, making money, income, copywriting, entrepreneurs, small business, home business, homebased business.

Posted by Bonny Albo

One of the hardest things for me to deal with as an entrepreneur is the isolation factor. Sure, I can work from almost anywhere - a fact I proved while traveling around the West Kootenay region of BC, Canada all summer. (Although I must admit that WiFi in the bush would have been REALLY helpful).

Even so, when I get down to it (copywriting) I find I work best with some outside distractions to help me focus more inwardly. Television works really well, as does a crowded coffee shop or library common area. Quiet, out-of-the-way places just make me feel out of touch with myself.

I realize I'm a bit of a weirdo in this respect; most people need peace, quiet and some zone-out tunes to get stuff done. Either way, when the times comes to focus, it's time to tune out. And tune out I do. For hours. Days, even.

So how do I make sure I'm not completely isolated from the world while working on a project, a goal, a stubborn issue, etc.?

I'll be honest: I'm still learning. Most work from home days are spent taking frequent walks and chat breaks. Some of the more seriously stressful days need heavy-duty results, and for those days I try my hand at:

EFT

EFT, or Emotional Freedom Techniques, is a form of acupressure and hypnosis rolled into one. Anyone can do it, anytime, and it only takes a couple of seconds once you've mastered the technique. A couple of, "Even though I am fighting isolation, I still love myself completely"-'s and I feel much better. Take a peek at the link above for a free online course on how-to.

Smile at Everyone You See

Gleaned from research I did for an eBook (How to Get 'That' Guy), I learned a great, easy trick to feel more connected to the people around me, even if I wasn't able to spend any time getting to know them or chatting about my day. All I had to do was smile. Lots. At everyone I saw, no matter what. And it couldn't be just a little, half smile. No, no. It had to be a beamer.

By smiling at everyone, I learned a lot about myself. The most striking lesson learned was about judgments. Who was I to determine if someone 'deserved' a smile or not? Just because the man was married, the woman looked homeless, or the family was trying to give me religious paraphernalia shouldn't matter. Should it? And yet, I was doing just that. Well, at first anyway. After a swift kick to the butt (figuratively of course), I started smiling again. Without judgment. Amazingly enough, people responded positively. I even had an attractive young man ask me out for a drink!

Technorati Tags: isolation, home based business, EFT, Kootenays, SOHO, entrepreneur blog, smiling, copywriting, entrepreneurs, small business, home business, homebased business.

Posted by Bonny Albo

The gross majority of the working population is nearing retirement (within the next 10 years, most experts predict, if all in the legislation-game stays the same). Large corporations, smaller businesses and experienced entrepreneurs will be hit equally hard, with few options available to recoup the expertise with other generations (such as my own, 30-something peers).

To deal with the upcoming exodus, Governing Magazine reported in their February 2006 edition that some companies are conducting "knowledge mapping" exercises, where employees state who they go to for specific pieces of information. Supposedly, this is an indicator of what gaps in service will need to be filled in addition to the position responsibilities, although some staff members are concerned instead that this reporting process may unintentionally weed out the people who aren't as gung-ho socially as others.

Although I freely admit that experience is a lovely addition to my business, most of the people I've employed or contract work out to over the years haven't been the boomers. Instead, single moms of my generation have been the largest recipients of work, with the under 25's comprising most of the remainder.

When I have worked positively and professionally with anyone in the boomer generation, it has been in a purely consultative or educational role. In my experience, the ties I've made to my parents' generation (from a business perspective, anyway) are useful and not easily found elsewhere - but - I'm sure that if I poked around the Internet, read a couple more books or took it upon myself to become the "expert" instead that the gaps in knowledge and experience would be covered quite nicely.

Is this somewhat disrespectful? Yes. I should be revering my elders, learning from their mistakes, sopping up their methods of doing business. But in a way, I find the 'retiring after 35 years of good service with a gold watch' world more historically-based than reality. And really, is doing the same thing for 35 years even healthy? I know I'd go crazy if there weren't some variety in my day-to-day activities - but again, this may be more indicative of my generation than me as an individual.

Posted by Bonny Albo

It wasn't until I took an entrepreneurship course that I found out what a Chamber of Commerce was. To be honest, I hadn't even heard of one before. I felt a bit silly, but after doing some research I decided that, in my area, I wasn't able to join at that time. Why?

Good question. At the time I was merely starting up a confectionary business (Chocolate Decadents was the name). My plate was full with start-up work, and with my family commitments and financial resources, I didn't feel the local Chamber really had much to offer me at the time, other than their resources for marketing purposes - which were all available for free. And since most of their information was available online, I didn't even step into their office once.

After moving to Calgary, Alberta, and starting (finally) my own freelance writing business, I looked into the Chamber of Commerce again - but not because I was interested in their membership services. Rather, I felt I needed a home-base in which to run the shop if I were to attract local oil and gas contracts (a substantial part of the work in the area). A friend of a friend advised me that the Chamber had rental offices, so I found their website and took a peek.

To my surprise, for only $200 CDN a month I could rent my own (shared) office, a receptionist, internet access, bookable meeting rooms, an answering service and fax number - all in a convenient downtown location.

The further I looked into the service, the better it felt. By joining I would not only have this rental opportunity, but I'd also have countless networking chances with a myriad of organized lunches, meetings and presentations.

But the clincher was the other, 'extra' fringe benefits the Chamber offered medium-sized, established businesses like my own: health and business insurance, travel vouchers, buying coops for large savings and so forth. I was hooked, and decided that once the financial benefits outweighed the cost, I'd join.

Have you used a Chamber of Commerce before? Was it successful? Did you renew your membership after the first year? What would you do differently? Did it help you politically to garner the business legislation your entrepreneurial venture required?

Technorati Tags: chamber of commerce, business leads, business networking, entrepreneurs, small business, home business, homebased business.