Category Archives: biz

I Finally Did It!!!

1 Reply

I finally took the leap and set up my first paid seminar!  I’m so excited.  I have to figure out how much to charge for it now and write up the actual outline.  Since it’s a bring your own laptop kind of session, it won’t really take all that much creativity to write it up.

I teach regular classes on how to utilize social media and blogging for businesses.  For the most part, the group of women that I work with all get that they should blog, but all talk about how they have so little time and have no idea what to talk about.  As startup solopreneurs, they also tend to balk at paying someone (again) to work on their website or to install a blog on their site.

This workshop will require that they all bring their own laptops and we’ll walk through together, step by step, how to create a blog.  In the end, they will finally have their blog, understand what widgets are, set up their RSS feeds and, the best part, walk out of there with 5-10 (or more) topics that they can sit down and start writing about.  It’s guaranteed to get them started, no excuses.  If we’ve all set them up and can find the time to write in them, then so can they.

Told you guys I’ve been busy working this week!  And I’m not done yet…

It’s the Simple Things in Life

1 Reply

I’m so happy!!  I finally got around to calling a bookkeeper. No really, this is reason to rejoice.  Our books are finally going to be taken care of.  Best part, I think we’re actually going to use her to actually input our reciepts as well.  This means even less stress for me.  And by less stress, I really mean less tears at the end of the year.  I’m so happy.

I spent a good chunk of this weekend working on our books and our filing.  I still had all of the ’07 paperwork filed in the cabinet and not organized or boxed up.  Which of course meant that my ’08 paperwork was just piling up since I could actually file it away.  Not any more.  Now my desk is not only cleared, but I no longer have mountains of papers threatening to topple over.  Such a good feeling (even though I still have a bit more to file away).

So now I’m going to spend the rest of this week focusing on writing and getting my website up and running the way I want it to.  I’m finally going to get that newsletter subscription service running.  Enough putting it off.  The time is now.

On that note, I can’t say I’ll be blogging all that much this week.  I really do need to get caught up on things (and no, I haven’t even tried to get caught up on my backlog of blogs – though my email is all caught up!)  So bear with me.  I’l be back shortly…

What an Interesting PR Opportunity

Leave a reply

This request just came in my email earlier today for a piece to be run with a “national news site”. Trust me, I’ve seen and heard some crazy shit that people have done online thinking they were anonymous (and some not caring that they weren’t anonymous). But I have to wonder, who would actually out themselves publicly, in the “national media”, for being such a bitch?

“I’m looking for a couple of people willing to talk about their anonymous online behavior — specifically, the not-so-nice stuff. If you’ve posted angry, hateful, and/or vituperative comments in an online forum or blog and are willing to talk about it (this time you WON’T be anonymous), please contact me. I’m particularly interested in people who would never in a million years tell someone off in the same manner face to face. NO EXPERTS (I’m all set), just real folks please. THANKS for the help!”

That said, this is a fascinating topic and I’d love to read or see the piece when it’s done.  The deadline for pitching your ulitimate bitchiness is this Friday.  Drop me a comment if you should happen to want the contact info for the writer.

BlogHer Here I Come!!!

Leave a reply

Well, I leave tomorrow, but same thing.  I mean I don’t know if I’ll have time to post something before I go tomorrow since I have to drop the pupster off before heading out.  And today, man, well today I still have a list of things to do…deal with our newspaper subscription (neither one of us recalls the login info), return to cient calls, write some blog posts for my other sites, get the contest up on my other site, and book my airport shuttle.  Oh yeah, and pack.

I guess I better check the forecast before I start throwing clothes in the suitcase.  Since I’ll be inside most of the day, I’m thinking that longish-sleeve tops would be fine.  And outside of the one casual dress for Thursday’s newbie event, I’ve decided to stick with a darkwash pair of jeans and call it a day.  I might wear sandals during the day, but throw my walking flats into my backpack in case I need to head out into the city.

Believe it or not, my biggest question is which jewelry to take since I have two longish silver necklaces that I love (and need to polish).  Guess I should also dig up my wedding ring too since I rarely wear that.  Hmmm..maybe I should ask for a new band for our 5th since this one is hollow and digs in a bit – but any bigger and it would be too big.

I’m also really excited that I got my Flip video camera.  I might put up a quick video tomorrow sometime.  It’s great fun to play with.  I look forward to asking various bloggers to give me a burning blogging answer to share with my biz blog readers.

And now it’s back to packing.  I expect to still be around and maybe sending out a tweet from time to time.  But I doubt I’ll be carrying my laptop with me to the event (since I’m not in the same hotel).  So don’t expect any quality blogging in my absence.

Last Week Was Crazy

1 Reply

And this week doesn’t look any less crazy.  I think I must have had something going on every day last week.  In fact, one of both of us were so busy, that we only had one meal together at home (not cool).  I actually canceled my Saturday seminar so I could spend a little time at home with the husband.  Now this week isn’t looking all that much better since he leaves on Wedsnesday morning to head out to Chicago for the rest of the week and I leave on Thursday.

I’m doing another LWL workshop tonight on blogging.  But before the workshop, I’ve got a session with a client and dinner with a friend.  At least it should be a short workshop since a good quarter or third of my original attendees probably won’t be there.  I think I’ve had at least 5 cancel already.  Add to that the natural flake-factor of about a third and yep, not expecting much.

I think I’m doing it too soon on the heels of the last blogging workshop.  Which is fine.  It’s just the sort of motivation I need to get out, find a location, opening things up to the general public and start making some money at it.  I’ve been giving it away since January and I feel totally comfortable with my giving back-ness.

And of course, I’ve got BlogHer this weekend!!!  I’m really starting to get excited.  There’s been tons of talk on the BlogHer network about what to wear, what to bring, how to survive that I just can’t help but get excited.  I’m just waiting on a cute dress I ordered for Thursday’s newbie mixer and my postcards so I can promote my website.  I expect both any day now.

If you’ll be at BlogHer and would like to meet up or at least say Hi, feel free to drop me a line.  My goal is to meet people and make some connections, so don’t be shy.

Young Woman No More

2 Replies

I was looking into joining the Young Women Social Entrepreneurs group.  I figured hey, I’m a young woman, I’m social and well, lookey that, I’m also an entrepreneur.  So I started poking around the site to learn about the LA chapter.  Seems like they do some fun local stuff.  Sounds great.

Then I click over to the membership page.  Turns out it’s only for gals in the their 20’s and 30’s.  While I am still a gal in my 30’s, let’s just say that I won’t be for much longer.  What a sad way to realize that you’re getting older.  I’m aging out of a networking group.  So sad.

Talk About Feeling Overwhelmed

3 Replies

I just got off of a teleseminar with Adam Urbanski and Coach Deb.  Now I know how folks feel when they leave my workshops on basic blogging and basic social media.  It’s a LOT of information to absorb and process.  I just have to remember that I don’t need to do everything all at once.

Today’s session was an in depth discussion about twitter.  Perfect timing too since I was asked to write up an article for the LWL magazine on twitter basics.  This session really helped to come up with some good, clear examples of how twitter can be an asset to a small business.  Now I just need to break it all down to it’s most simplest, bare bones measures since many of the women in the LWL are just learning about twitter and other various forms of social media.

Adam is running this Contact to Contracts teleseminar for two more days.  We still get to hear from Mari Smith tomorrow about Facebook and Nancy Marmolego about integrating social networking strategies.  The teleseminars are free (which is always a good thing), so be sure to register.  If you think you missed out on Coach Deb’s info, then go ahead and order the VIP package with both audio and transcriptions of the calls.  Good stuff.

Now that’s the massive note taking has stopped, I must find a cure for my hiccups and find some lunch.

Just Testing My Feed

2 Replies

I recently installed a new RSS button and wanted to check out if newly written, post-dated posts show up in the RSS as being new.

Feel free to just ignore this post and stay cool in this crazy, insane heat (at least here in LA).

Time Seems To Be Getting Away From Me!

2 Replies

Going from weekend away, to prepping for official biz launch, back to extended weekend away, on to the hubs working from home for the week, then to me seeing clients daily…well, I have no idea what day it is.  Worse still, I have to buy my plane tickets (or decide if I’m going to carpool) to Blogher and do it now!

But really, I swore that yesterday was Thursday.  So of course, I woke up thinking that today was Friday.  I can’t believe that I can have something going on every day, yet still not know what day of the week it is.  That’s just craziness, I say.

Of course I have mountains of laundry to do and well, it was already 93 degrees by 10:30 this morning!  Hard to find the motivation to clean and take care of the house when it’s already too damn hot both inside and out.  Thursday and Friday we’re expected to be in the 100’s again.  *sigh* I really love our apartment, except in the hot days of summer when our wimpy AC continuously seems to let me down.

Needless to say, I’m fairly certain that I won’t be posting up any photos for Wordless Wednesday.  I still haven’t gotten around to uploading my Jersey pics (see previous mentions of time getting away from me) and well, I just don’t have the desire to do that today.  Sorry.

Instead I’ll focus on my massage and adjustment scheduled for later today.  Lord knows I need it since I”ve been on the verge of a migraine for the past 4 days and everytime I reach back to scratch or something, I get sharp pangs in my shoulder.  Not cool, but both are simple things that the chiro can fix. Yay!

My one other crazy, big plan…to finish this last Outlander book.  I believe I have less than 100 pages left and I’m just digging it.  Of course, historical romances, especially those that are nearly 1000 pages long, tend to warp your sense of self a bit.  We were out walking the dog late last night (when it’s cooler) and I reminded the hubby that we should be wary of coyotes since it’s nearly a full moon.

The hubs asks me what I would do if I encountered a coyote.  My first thought…well, that I’d shoot him with my rifle, of course.  Then I remembered that I don’t have a rifle and moved on to the dirk that I have on hand.  Um…only to realize that I don’t have a dirk either as I’m not back in the 1770.  Silly woman – my actual response was that I’d scream and make a lot of noise. Whatever that might be worth.

And don’t even get me started on the wacky dreams I have when I read the Outlander books.  Crazy shit I tell ya.  But I still love them.

Okay, off to get busy and get to work.  Stay cool in this heat!

Let’s Get Writing

3 Replies

I’ve been asked by our LWL leader extraordinaire to write up some how-to articles for the LWL online magazine.  We’re thinking to focus on the various, mainstream social media outlets and write up some basic tutorials. She’s hoping that I can write one piece a week starting in July. This won’t be such a bad thing, though the pressure along could likely do me in (lol, nothing like being under pressure to get a gal to write).  The good thing, when all is said and done, I just might have a little ‘ol ebook already written and read to go.

First up, Twitter.  Any suggestions, advice or things for me to consider when starting with the most basics of basics?