by Yvonne DiVita It's 2:00 a.m. and you're up pacing the floor, mind racing with thoughts of this, that and the other thing. You can't sleep, there's far too much going on in the business to sleep! You have orders to fill, or clients to call, or blog posts to write, or any number of other things that keep popping into your head like little soap bubbles... clinging, the way soap does, to your brain cells, preventing you from sleeping. Does pacing help? Does braving the still, cold night... disturbing the cat despite your best efforts to be quiet... work? Are you now in control of those nagging thoughts or...are they just multiplying, even as you struggle to tame them? Being a small business owner is hard. Yes, it is! Generally, if it's your business, you're in charge and regardless of how many employees you have, or contract workers, or even volunteers... the buck stops with you and if orders don't go out, or if they're mangled somehow, or if someone on staff has words with a client or if orders are down this month and payroll is up and... you get the drift. IF anything happens that causes angst, it's your fault, it's your responsiblity, and you'd better fix it! When things go right - sometimes you get the credit, but generally, you need to give credit where credit is due and applaud those employees who deserve the hand. At any given time, that's me... above. I'm stumbling along as best I can. I remind myself of the words of a favorite song from long ago, "I never promised you a rose garden." No one ever promised me a rose garden. Not even a lawn full of dandelions, which I think is better than nothing. In reality, the world doesn't owe me anything. But, I owe... I owe myself and my staff... someone who can take charge and who is forward thinking. To that end, I don't mind the occasional night pacing the floor. Truth is, I seldom pace. I brave the cold of the night air to come down and play on the computer. Sometimes I read blog posts I haven't had time to read. Sometimes I look at cute cat pictures (awww.... look at that one!). Sometimes I scroll through Facebook and reacquaint myself with my family. And, after a few minutes (can be 10, can be 30, seldom more than that), I'm refreshed, I feel better, and I go back to bed. To sleep. Small businesses stumble along on a daily basis, from time to time. There is no right way to grow, and no wrong way to make progress. Your best bet is to tap into the talent at your fingertips (your own and that of your employees or whomever is in this with you). Don't be afraid to ask for advice (I have relied on my mentor, Bruce Peters, more times than I can remember!). Don't be afraid to say, "I don't know." What you don't know can inspire you to learn something new, and come back with better answers, better suggestions, better results. Even the best sprinter stumbles now and then. Even the most successful business person can tell you horror stories of business deals gone bad, at one time or another. Even the strongest supporter can admit moments of doubt. In the end, being human means ... stumbling right along, as you go. The most important thing to remember is... that stumbling can force balance. It moves you forward. Even if you fall, getting back up, brushing off the dirt, prepares you for the next time... and shows the world you won't be defeated. Here I am, stumbling right along... at this moment. Tomorrow, I'll be sailing along, because I kept going, because I made it my job to learn something from the events that led to my stumble. Continue reading

by Katie Parsons It’s Sunday which means I’m headed to the grocery store with my clipped coupons and sales ads, a strict budget in mind. I double check that I have my smartphone before I head in because I have several digital coupon codes on there too. I unbuckle my four-year-old daughter and we head in to stock our fridge and shelves for the upcoming week. We stop for a cookie and then start meticulously checking off our list as we go. It would probably be easier to do the shopping alone but these Sunday trips are part of a bigger family plan: teaching my daughters about financial matters. The one with me today may only be a preschooler, but she understands that mommy only has so much money to spend on groceries and that she makes that money by working for it. Occasionally she is rewarded for her good behavior by picking out a non-list item that is on sale; sometimes there is simply not enough budgeted to make that happen. I don’t remember really understanding finances as a kid. I had no idea how to balance a checkbook when I went to college or the dangers of signing up for five credit cards in exchange for free T-shirts. I always worked but had no idea how to budget my earnings. I took out student loans that I probably could’ve passed up because it seemed like free money at the time. Now eight years as a college graduate, I am still at least a decade away from paying off that giveaway money. I don’t fault my parents for my financial deficiencies. They were both busy working to keep me and my brothers alive, fed and clothed. They also came from a time when kids were not a part of the family financial discussion. Why worry little ones with money matters? Thankfully, times have changed. If our kids stand even a fighting chance of avoiding our financial faux pas, they need to be in the know early in life. If money really is power, our daughters need our financial guidance to excel as independent adults. Consider this: Women still make less than men. The wage gap is closing, but women in 2013 make just 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man. I wonder how much of this is outright discrimination, and how much is simply ignorance on the part of women. How many working women today were taught to research what they deserve in the way of a wage before agreeing to a position? How many learned that it is perfectly acceptable to ask for a raise when it is warranted? Debt is rising. Despite the recent recession, people are still spending beyond their means. Mortgage debt has fallen since 2008, mainly due to foreclosures, but student loan debt has risen by $317 billion. More credit cards are in default and car repossessions also continue to rise. The bigger is better mentality that seems to haunt American culture is still alive and well. If our daughters grow up watching us buy homes, cars and electronics that we plan to “pay for later” they will have a distorted concept of living within our means. Money doesn’t buy happiness. Wealth seems to be the ultimate goal for most Americans and a lack of it leads to dissatisfaction with life. The assumption then is that an overabundance of money will bring contentment. Instead of teaching our girls to be wealthy, we should teach them to make the most of the money they earn, avoid unnecessary debt and prioritize spending. This is all done through teaching them ways to organize their finances. Women who are slaves to money cannot ever be truly liberated in their career, family or love lives. The little girls riding in our shopping carts today have the potential to lead the economy in a few decades. The financial knowledge they need to excel starts at home though. How detailed are you when you talk to your kids about money? (Photo Source) Katie Parsons is a part-time writer for ChamberofCommerce.com. She specializes in business news affecting major markets in the U.S. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and facilitates connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide. She is also the administrator for a community blog for moms. Continue reading

by Yvonne DiVita Is there a budget in your future? In your past? Are you on budget right now? If you're a small business, you had better be on budget! While that doesn't mean living a life of pure austerity - it does mean paying attention to your spending. Austerity, according to the dictionary, refers to "markedly simple or unadorned." Many of us start out with austerity budgets - with second, or third, hand furniture, set up in our basement or dining room. Our budgets are beyond austere - they're non-existent. I talked to a young man just this week who said he and his wife put all their monies into his new business and were living off credit cards now. His budget has gone beyond austere and into... desperation! But, if his passion is any indication, he will break out of the austerity life has imposed upon him, and enter the comfort zone of doing business on a real budget, with real money, focused on real spending, soon. Yet, he may find himself turning, once again, to his credit card. The neat thing about credit cards today is that they come with a good many perks. For instance, you may be offered a tool to track spending, via your credit card. I know I use my Visa Business card to actually show me, month to month, what I'm spending on. The key is to make sure the card is only used for business and that you're aware of your spending habits. While Visa Business cards can help you track your spending (what did you spend on restaurants or gas, this month, and how does it match up to spending overall?); enrollings in Visa SavingsEdge with your Visa Business card can get you discounts (yep, you can get discounts on those restaurants and even gas, sometimes). With the discounts appearing on your statement, that's another way to track savings. Some cards even forgive late fees, in difficult times. The small business budget is like a living breathing creature. It needs attention - are you overspending on little things, like coffee shop meetings, or paper products, simply because you aren't tracking your costs? Your budget needs respect - it can't take care of you, if you don't take care of it! Managing it means a weekly review and thoughtful planning. Little Orphan Annie can sing "the sun'll come out tomorrow" all she wants, but if you aren't giving your small business budget the true respect it deserves, there'll be dark days ahead for you! Your small business budget can be the first indication of success or failure. Here are 4 Must Do Things to keep your budget healthy and happy: Track your spending. Visa Business cards can help. They not only track spending, they have security features like zero liability on unauthorized purchases. Be prepared. You should know, well ahead of time, what you need to get through the week or the month. Include small purchases like that coffee at your next meeting, or buying your new client lunch. Don't clutch your throat in surprise when your credit card bill arrives every month. Be prepared to pay it off, or pay it down. Admit when you can't afford something. This is a hard thing to do - you want folks to know you're successful, or at least think you're successful! Surely, that means you're springing for the bagels this week! Not so. Tell the people who need to know that bagels aren't in your budget this week, but you'll do bagels and coffee, in the coming months. If you must tap into your savings or use a credit card to get ahead, be frugal. Know how much you're using and how you're going to pay it back, when the time comes. Never assume you'll be on your feet next week or next month, and you'll pay it back then. Assume you'll need to work a little harder for the time being - make more contacts - and figure out new ways to bring in some cash. It's not easy living on a small business budget. But, you can do it. Hang out with other small business owners and you'll be right at home! I am blogging on behalf of Visa Business and received compensation for my time from Visa for sharing my views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely mine, not Visa’s. Visit http://facebook.com/visasmallbiz to take a look at the reinvented Facebook Page: Well Sourced by Visa Business. The Page serves as a space where small business owners can access educational resources, read success stories from other business owners, engage with peers, and find tips to help businesses run more efficiently. Every month, the Page will introduce a new theme that will focus on a topic important to a small business owner’s success. For additional tips and advice, and information about Visa’s small business solutions, follow @VisaSmallBiz and visit http://visa.com/business. Continue reading

Guest post by Hannah Morgan, the Career Sherpa If you had a job and wanted to meet with someone, would they ask for your resume? Probably not. So why are people asking you for your resume? Is it because you confessed in your request for a meeting that you were job hunting? Is that really necessary? Really? If you are networking and people are asking you for your resume, let me suggest you are doing it all wrong! Why Networking With a Resume A Bad Idea? Any time you present your resume to someone, it sends the message “Hire Me! I am looking for a job.” Your state of employment (or unemployment) is a distraction from the main purpose of the meeting. You want the conversation to center around gaining information and idea-sharing. When you introduce the fact that you are job searching, the conversation often switches to pity, resume critique, or worse, they feel like they can’t help you because their company isn’t hiring, thereby cutting he conversation short. What you really want from them is information. You want the people you meet with to trust you and like you, and ultimately, refer you to new contacts to gain more insight. This is the true purpose for networking. The First Thing You Need to Do… Stop introducing yourself by saying you are in transition (or any other fancy term to indicate you are unemployed!) The fact that you are unemployed is important to you, not the person you are meeting with. Introduce this information later in the conversation. Your chances of securing a meeting are greater if the person feels like they have something to gain from the conversation. Being unemployed isn’t the only reason you are reaching out, nor should it be the first thing that comes out of your mouth. You Are Networking to Acquire Information Believe it or not, some people network all the time, even while employed. Conversations with people outside your company help you stay up to date on industry trends. You are “talking shop.” So what questions do you want answered? What personal insights would be valuable to you? Here are some non-job search related questions you may want to add to your repertoire: What are some changes you have noticed in [insert their line of work]? Have you tried implementing something new recently? How did that work for you and your team? Why do you think about… [cite industry news] What Information Can You Share? Think about the other people you have met with along your networking journey and the stories they have shared with you. And remember, you have learned some lessons along your career path. Listen for opportunities to share your experiences or what others have done, just as a consultant might do. You will be viewed as a conduit of information, a connector, an informed professional, and valuable. No resume required. Just In Case… To head off the request for a resume (it is doubtful this will happen if you aren’t telling people you are job seeking), provide your background by sharing a link to your LinkedIn profile. You may choose to put it in the confirmation email instead of your initial outreach depending on how well you know the person. You could say, “Just in case, I have included a link to my LinkedIn profile here…“ And have a business card and personal marketing plan on hand as well! Continue reading

by Yvonne DiVita I'm surrounded by caring people who go that extra mile, each and every day, so when confronted with the gross negligence and ignorance of 'other' people... I find myself wondering, "What is wrong with people?" I'm serious. How can anyone...any sentient being...cause so much pain and suffering - so much abuse and terror? I guess some of these people are just plain mean. Or they have no souls. I guess some of them start out meaning well and fall into...tough times, without knowing what to do or who to turn to. I guess some are just stupid. No, not stupid, uneducated. It's not the same thing. I'm talking about people who perpetuate cruelty and anger on animals. On innocent beings that exist for no other purpose than to love you. Innocent beings that have no voice but live, breathe and FEEL, just as warmly, deeply and purposefully as you and I. It will baffle me now and forever to know this cruelty exists. But, more than that... the larger issue is this: why do otherwise smart, intelligent, so-called 'caring' people...look the other way? Why is it not a major felony to harm a defenseless animal? (in my state, CO, you might go to jail for 6 years and incur a fine of $500,000 but the operative word is 'might') Why is harming a puppy or a kitten, or an elderly dog/cat because he or she has become incontinent and hard to care for...not as serious as harming... you or I? You and I have more defenses...and, at the very least, we can pick up a phone or run for help... and have the "law" on our side. Animals are lost...and often neglected and suffer such great mistreatment, both by the cruel people who abuse them and the system we do not have in place to protect them. Animals have no protection. Rather than treat cruelty as it should be treated - with seriousness and anger, with punishment to fit the crime (yes, if you run a dog fighting ring and kill and abuse dogs - you go to jail for life. You do not get out...ever... you have given up your right to walk among the rest of us), we turn the other cheek and allow abusers to pay a fine, serve a little bit of jail time, and then... not only have more pets, but be treated as celebrities. Ok... that's an unusual case. For the most part, the general public abhors animal cruelty. We are shocked by it and often raise up to shake our fists at it. But, we're not doing enough about it. Why? Because we're too busy doing other things - because we think someone else will do it - because it's not important enough. It IS important enough... because in the end, if we ignore these animals - if we expect someone else to do what's right - if we plan to get to it tomorrow... we are part of the problem and there will never be a solution. I return to my question - what is wrong with people? And the answer is - it lies in their hearts. If they have no heart, they are no longer human and that's what's wrong with them. If they have heart, they act. Will you act, today? Continue reading

by guest blogger, Megan Totka Small business owners know the importance of utilizing social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and even Pinterest. The relatively small investment of time and money can really pay off. Crowdspring reports that 50 percent of small business owners say they have gained new customers through social media, with LinkedIn and Facebook leading the way. That’s a statistic worth pursuing. The great thing about social media is the interactive, personal atmosphere it fosters between businesses and consumers. This can be a challenging characteristic for small business owners that are unsure how much personal information really should be part of their professional identity and don’t want to commit one of the 7 deadly online sins. Every industry and business differs, but here are a few ground rules when striking a balance between a business and personal social media presence: Know your audience. You may have a strong sense of personal identity that you associate with your brand but what about your clients and prospective customers? You may be proud of the fact that you once worked on an election campaign or that you have several kids, but do personal facets like these really matter in your business life? In some cases, the answer will be “yes” but be wary of intertwining too much unrelated information about your life into your business social media accounts. Consider your audience; what does your client base want from you? Once you determine that answer, give them just that. Consider your loved ones. The boundaries drawn between public and private lives have all but faded because of social media. St. Louis Post-Dispatch Columnist Aisha Sultan believes the Internet has single-handedly led to a devaluation of privacy, especially where children are concerned. She argues that while online sharing intentions are good, particularly where parents are concerned, the ramifications on relationships can be devastating. Parents are an obvious example of people that share personal details in a public way, but the use of social media makes this a reality for women who own businesses of all types. Maybe you think an offhand comment about your husband breaking the dishwasher is funny social media fodder, but he may not feel the same way. The same goes for talking about kids, friends and colleagues. Even if you do have their permission, your audience may find personal posts off-putting or irrelevant. Stay safe. Never reveal details on your web pages that could endanger you or your family. Most people know not to include a home address on public profiles but there are other subtle things that can put you in danger too. Think twice before posting the route of an upcoming run you plan to take alone, or the fact that you are working solo in your office. The people that are fans of your small business on Facebook or follow you on Twitter are not equal to the ones associated with your personal profiles (and really, how many of those people do you actually know?). Your intentions may be harmless, but not everyone in the cyber world is on the side of the good guys. If a post can definitively identify where you are at any given point in time, you should avoid publishing it on a business social media account. The rules of social media etiquette are still being written and it is too soon to tell what the lasting ramifications of the digital networking age will have on small businesses. In the meantime, it is up to small business owners to walk the social media tightrope, balancing the human side of running a business with a professional persona. (Photo Source) Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com. She specializes on the topic of small business tips and resources. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and facilitates connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide. Continue reading

by Yvonne DiVita I work from home. I've worked from home for more than 10 years. Granted, I work for myself... although these days there is a bigger presence in our lives - BlogPaws was aquired by Pet360 and I now work for them. But, they understand that, as the Co-Founder and major contributor to BlogPaws, I need to have a good working environment... which is here at home. Where I can give my dogs lots of attention, all day long. There's a bit of controversy going around the business world about the whole working from home idea. Back when the Internet began, we geeks were ecstatic that we now had a tool that would allow us to work from home and still be connected to the office. And yet, the numbers haven't changed all that much... people don't work from home as much as we thought they would. Flexible hours is not the norm, as we expected it would be. However, "According to the 2012 National Study of Employers, "between 2005 to 2012, employers have increased their provision of options that allow employees to better manage the times and places in which they work. These include flex time (from 66% to 77%); flex place (from 34% to 63%); choices in managing time.." and more. Of course, there is more to flex time than just working from home. Employers who allow this may require time sheets or documentation on how much work was done and when. Some may require specific hours - 3 hours in the morning, 3 in the afternoon...etc. Others may leave it to the employee. For me, and folks who work from home at BlogPaws, we believe in trusting the worker - so, you have your tasks, your work schedule, the list of what needs to get done, and you do it. I don't look over your shoulder, nor do I want anyone looking over my shoulder. If I want to stop in the middle of the day and walk the dogs, I do. I make it up in other ways, later on or on weekends. There's nothing better than knowing I have full control over my work day. I don't work in a world where I can turn off at 5:00 on Friday and then turn back on at 8:00 on Monday. Sometimes I work Saturday and Sunday... and not Monday. Sometimes I travel and have a totally screwed up schedule. No matter what, I get the work done because, in the end, isn't that the key? Isn't accomplishing the work, and doing it well because you are comfortable where you work... the most important thing? Isn't it, Marissa Mayer? Continue reading

by Yvonne DiVita on Behalf of International Women's Day 2013 Heifer International, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending world hunger and poverty, shares ways readers can “take action” during International Women’s Day (that would be today folks) via the Heifer International’s IWD page. In Heifer projects around the world, women are the backbone of agriculture and the key driver of food production. One way Heifer is helping to end poverty is by providing women in impoverished communities with the assistance, tools and training to enhance food production and build sustainable assets and income. The impact these women-driven projects has is truly remarkable. By placing animal and knowledge assets directly into the hands of women farmers, Heifer International has empowered them to quickly convert these gifts into food and income-generating enterprises so that they can send their children to school, pay medical bills and lift themselves out of poverty. Though women own less than one percent of the earth’s land, they produce a staggering 80 percent of the developing world’s food. There’s no development strategy more beneficial to society than one involving women as central players, and at the same time engages men to encourage a more accepting view of women’s participation. READERS CAN TAKE “ACTION” DURING #IWD Below are some ways your readers can help – by donating to the cause or bringing awareness on their social network during #IWD: GIVE: The below gifts from Heifer International will truly make a difference for women. Start a Women’s Self-Help Group ($72): Literacy rates among women in many parts of the world are very low. Your gift will help women start a self-help group where they can learn to read, and receive the livestock and training that will empower them to reduce their vulnerability to domestic violence, trafficking and health-related issues. Send a Girl to School($275): This gift will provide a family with training and livestock so they can earn the income needed to pay for their daughter’s school fees and supplies. Girls often suffer the most from gender discrimination, and when resources are limited, they are the ones denied the opportunity to go to school in favor of their brothers. The Gift of Women’s Empowerment ($10,000): This gift provides Heifer training and assistance so that mothers will be able to work and become self-sufficient. They will be able to afford to send their children to school, pay medical bills and, most importantly, will give women a way to lift themselves out of hunger and poverty. EDUCATE OTHERS VIA SOCIAL MEDIA: Share the Facts: At www.heifer.org/womensday, visitors can learn about the multiplier effect of empowering women, and choose how they’d like to help through Heifer’s Women’s Day Action Toolkit. They can share the Women’s Day message with their own social networks, or even give the gift of women’s empowerment. They can also learn more about the challenges facing women that Heifer International works to overcome. Facebook for the Cause: The “Half the Sky” Facebook game dedicated to women’s issues launched March 4th and Heifer is one of the non-profit organizations involved. Check out this recent New York Times article for more information: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/18/business/a-game-aims-to-draw-attention-to-womens-issues.html WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT CASE STUDIES The below two stories are just some of the many we can share—we can also provide photos, videos and more information to complement your coverage: NEPAL: At the young age of 14, Dhankumari Lama, who is now 20, had to leave school because her parents didn’t have the financial means for her education and she was expected to marry. At age 16, she became the youngest member of Heifer’s self-help group for women where she was encouraged by the 25 other participants to pursue her passion for reading and writing. In fact, they helped her raise enough money—supplementing money from the milk she sold from the goats Heifer provided her—to enroll in a local school and continue her education. Today she’s pursuing an intermediate degree in business—something once unheard of for women in her village. CAMBODIA: Orphaned Mao Kunthea had to drop out of school because of poverty—like many impoverished women, she married young and then moved into the home of her husband’s family. Her new “family” was far from supportive—they ridiculed her and dismissed her as a weak and dependent woman. She was confined to household chores with no interaction with the outside world. In 2011, Kunthea joined Heifer’s self-help group with 27 other women in her village—she also received seeds, two pigs (and she now sells their piglets for extra income) and agricultural training. The women’s group elected her to be a secretary and a literacy facilitator. Her newfound skills and confidence led to acknowledgment from the local government because she shared best practices for health and agriculture with the greater community. In fact, she is looking forward to a leadership role when a new agricultural cooperative is established in her community—a role that certainly defies the odds against her. Continue reading

Guest post by Hannah Morgan When you submit your resume to an online job posting, how many other people do you suppose are doing that exact same thing? Hundreds? Thousands? The odds of your application rising to the top of the pile are as good as your odds of winning the lottery. The good news is, you can do something to increase the chances of your application getting the attention you want. 2 Steps Is What It Takes Most job applicants won’t take the time to do this, and that’s the very reason you should! The first step is easy and familiar. You find a job online and modify your resume to showcase your most important and relevant qualifications and include a cover letter that explains why you want to work at that company (this requires you’ve done research and know more than the company’s name). Step 2 may be new to you. Go find someone who works for that company. It sounds simple enough but it is time consuming to implement. Not to mention the fact that you don’t think you know anyone inside the company…yet! Why the 2 Step Works When you find a strong ally, supporter, cheerleader, or advocate inside the company, the odds of your resume being reviewed significantly increase. It is called an employee referral and it is powerful. The New York Times featured the rise in Employee Referral hiring. The article reports that companies like Ernst & Young want to fill their openings using employee recommendations. As much as 50% of their new hires are expected to come from internal referrals (they are currently at 45%.) Why? It saves them time and referred candidates tends to stay in jobs longer. According to the 2012 CareerXroads source of hiring study, the number one source of external hiring was employee referrals (28%)! Good to know! This is proof that the 2 Step is important. Tap Into LinkedIn LinkedIn is the best source for finding inside connections. All you need to do is visit the company’s LinkedIn page, see who works there and who you are connected to. If your network is quite small, in other words, you have fewer than 100 connections on LinkedIn, finding first level connections is going to be tough. Be sure your real-life network and your LinkedIn network are the same! Use the Other Social Networks Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest all draw different crowds and may enable you to tap into employees who work for the company you are applying to. Search them all. It is quite possible you will find some employees on one network you were unable to find on others. Unlike LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+ are open networks which don’t require someone to accept your invitation to see what they are saying on these platforms. This allows you to immediate begin building a relationship with company insiders without waiting for a referral, as you usually would on LinkedIn. Use Twitter search to find inside connections. Also use Facebook to see who, in your personal network, is affiliated with the company you are applying to. Don’t overlook the fact that your friends and family may know people who can help you professionally. Social networks allow you to connect with people like never before. You could even consider these social networks massive contact databases just ripe for the picking! Continue reading

by Yvonne DiVita Not every business needs 'employees' - dedicated workers who carry out the day-to-day tasks. Solo-preneurs do most of their own work, outsourcing those tasks they are not able to handle themselves. But, small businesses do need employees. We require extra hands and brains to bring the company to a level of achievement that enhances our success and takes us to that 'next level'. And, for small businesses, the hiring of excellence, the choosing of talent, the addition of voices and brains who will help innovate and execute new ideas, is harder than it is for big businesses that have whole departments assigned to that task. Where are the people you need, if you're a small business? What are the distinct challenges you face, as a small business? How necessary is it to add talent - why not just add people? Talent is important because that's how you differentiate yourself. It helps, therefore, to think "diversity" when you plan to hire. If you approach the hiring process from the "who do I need" angle - not, "what do I need"... you're many steps ahead of the game. In this century, we've moved beyond the "who" question and should be focused on the "what" question - hire talent, not tactics. Talent is hard won. Tactics can be taught. Who are these people? Can you open career builder online and find them? Not likely. At no other time in the history of this country has it been more important for businesses to employ diversity in hiring, to make it to that next level. We are and will ever be a global community, a global commerce, and global people. There is no room in business today for a company that is one gender, one race, one ethnicity. Unless you are a solopreneur. Diversity brings more than a variety of voices to your business. It opens the door to new challenges - how do we look at this from a different viewpoint? How do we think our European customers will see this? Understanding that diversity insists on being noticed - the 'differences' between people are often visual, at the start, and command attention - helps. Language becomes more than a communication tool - it becomes a connector or a divider. Diverse can mean different, but it can also mean the same. In the end, diversity embraces the world view of a people's business - by being flexible and forward thinking. How do you find these diverse people? You make a point of visiting local business groups. Meet the members - talk to them, listen to them. You tap into LinkedIn in unusual ways - ask questions, be aware, comment on posts. You'll learn a lot and find people you want to meet, while weeding out people you don't want to meet. You visit Facebook and ask your contacts, yes, even family, if they know anyone with the talents you need: and then list the talents. (you can assign who sees that request, by the way) You visit blogs. Any search in Google or Bing on the top 3 talents you need to fill in your company will return a multitude or resources, but the blogs focused on that topic will demonstrate the quality of talent and commitment the blogger brings to his or her writing. For instance, I searched Google for "good writing" and immediately found Greg Mankiw whose post on writing well serves my purposes. A truly talented team of diverse employees gives voice to a multitude of opportunities. Bring that talent to a place of comfort where your team can go beyond the mundane or ordinary, into the extraordinary. P.S. Diversity is NOT hiring one woman, one man, one African American, one Indian, one Italian... or whathaveyou. It's knowing that each person you add to your team must feel welcomed, inspired, and empowered - because they can do the job, not because someone said to you, "You don't have a *** on your team. You should get one." I am blogging on behalf of Visa Business and received compensation for my time from Visa for sharing my views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely mine, not Visa's. Visit http://facebook.com/visasmallbiz to take a look at the reinvented Facebook Page: Well Sourced by Visa Business. The Page serves as a space where small business owners can access educational resources, read success stories from other business owners, engage with peers, and find tips to help businesses run more efficiently. Every month, the Page will introduce a new theme that will focus on a topic important to a small business owner's success. For additional tips and advice, and information about Visa's small business solutions, follow @VisaSmallBiz and visit http://visa.com/business. Continue reading

by Katie Parsons I have three little girls that have not yet reached elementary school age. They are smart, pretty, spirited, opinionated, and dramatic forces to be reckoned with – all rolled into three individual beings. Being a mom to these girls has completely changed the way I look at world issues like fair pay, educational reform and respect for the decisions made by women worldwide. I tend to take longer to make decisions in election years and fight a little bit harder for the extra pay or time off I feel I deserve. Instead of taking the easiest route, especially when it comes to my career choices, I push back a little bit more with the belief that the strides I make will cause the path to be a little less bumpy for my daughters. No matter what their choices in the future, I am optimistic that I am leaving behind a better working environment for my daughters. Here are a few reasons why: Affordable Education. The average college graduate in America carries a student loan debt of nearly $25,000 upon graduating with a four-year degree. The price can be even higher for for-profit colleges, where nearly 96% take out student loans, compared to 50% at four-year public schools. Forget buying a home or even a moped with those kinds of bills to pay back. Despite this discouraging present-day figure, I believe a college education, or similar job training, will be much more affordable by the time my girls are done with high school. The American Graduation Initiative enacted in 2012 is a push to expand the services of community colleges and offer more flexible courses and payment options for students. This push, along with increases in Pell grants and talk of income-based student loan repayment initiatives, makes me confident that my girls will be able to afford higher education in order to reach whatever career dream they have. Better Pay. It is a fact that for every dollar a man earns in America, a woman makes 77 cents. This is disheartening, especially in cases where the exact same work is earning a woman a smaller paycheck. The gap is closing in on pay inequality, however. In 1970, women made just 60 percent of their male peers. The passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act ensures that the distance between these numbers will continue to shorten. When my youngest enters the full-time workforce in 20 years or so, I am confident she will be inheriting one where she will earn what she deserves, or at least much closer to it. Flexibility Options. Communication technology has made the idea of working a virtual schedule a reality. I will never have to explain to my daughters why they will likely face a career crossroads if and when they decide to start a family. I truly believe the technology will be firmly in place that allows them to do both well if they so desire. I also think the quality of child care facilities will continue to increase (they are pretty darn good now) and men will continue to speak up about their own needs for family/career flexibility too. More Respect. I recently saw a vintage ad page floating around with a group of beautiful, if dated, women under the headline “Presenting the Losers.” You can check it out for yourself, but the gist of the ad for an airline was that for every one beautiful, refined and intelligent stewardess it hired, 19 others were passed up. Thus, the losers in the picture. A contemporary reader, like myself, would immediately find this form of degradation offensive but it probably didn’t ruffle too many feathers upon its release. We’ve come a long way. But there is still room for growth when it comes to respect in the workplace for women. Cultural change starts at individual desks in singular offices and I believe it is taking place and will continue to in coming decades. Whatever marketplace my little ones enter, they will have their work cut out for them. As technology continues to improve, some jobs will be streamlined while others are completely eliminated. There will be new challenges that none of us can even fathom today but with the positive trends I see taking place, it will be a better working climate for my daughters and all of our children. Katie Parsons is a part-time writer for ChamberofCommerce.com. She specializes in business news affecting major markets in the U.S. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and facilitates connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide. She is also the administrator for a community blog for moms. Continue reading

by Yvonne DiVita Relevant questions of the day... Is there still a war between "moms" who stay at home and "moms" who don't (moms who generate income outside of the home - I won't say 'work' because all Moms work)? Answer: Yes. Why? You tell me. I did both. They are both noteworthy and important. Both take leadership skills. Both add value to the greater good. Both require time, energy, and focus. So, why war over them? It rather defeats the purpose of being a Mom. IMBO Why do fashion designers want all women to be 5' 10" and weigh 110 pounds? Answer: Really??? There are about 25 women, collectively, in the entire world who fit that body type. What are the rest of us supposed to wear? Why are there so few women in leadership roles in business? Fact: From DFW Leadership Summit: Even though studies show that adding women to corporate boards improves company financial performance, the U.S. numbers have not changed much in the past decade. In August 2012, Forbes reported that only 4 percent of the nation’s largest companies are run by women (20 in total), and “that’s a record.” Also, more than half (11) got the job between 2011 and 2012. Although U.S. corporate board membership is almost stagnant, does the uptick in female CEOs being named to the top job indicate a trend? (maybe, maybe not... I think women, generally, don't want the jobs at the top - for various reasons. That doesn't mean they aren't in leadership and it doesn't demean their 'power'. It's there.) Do we spend too much time on women and girls, and the issues surrounding them... to the detriment of boys and men? Answer: Not in my book. When boys and men have spent hundreds, literally hundreds, of years being dismissed, neglected, overlooked, abused, and otherwise demeaned... they can complain. Till then, stop whining. And, an opinion from Carol Roth. That's it for today, folks. Continue reading

by TD Austin, introduction by Yvonne DiVita You'll not be surprised to learn that books play an important part in my life. I've written posts about publishing and reading and books quite a bit lately. I did a short review of a fantastic sci-fi series just last weekend, and now I want to introduce a series of blog posts around a new book. The book is, People of the Bear Mother. The author is TD Austin. We emailed back and forth a bit and I asked if she would share her writing experience with us, as I read the book and prepare to write about it. TD Austin wrote to me, "That the story of our Stone Age ancestors and their inner/spiritual lives should be told by a woman seems to me unremarkable because these hunting cultures were the most egalitarian in human history. Scientists tell us that the women's 'gathering' activities provided up to 80% of all food calories, that most of the shamans, spiritual leaders and healers were women and that the status of women was truly equal to that of men in ways that even our modern societies have not yet attained to. "Even those we now refer to as gay/lesbian/transgendered were revered for their spiritual gifts and ranked high in these hunting societies which only had prestigious personal abilities and talents to be honored for since they completely lacked 'wealth' and/or political power to stratify the society. Scientists have documented their relaxed attitudes toward sex, free choice of mates, control of family size and the lack of hereditary chiefs and priesthoods making it impossible to repress women in ways that increasingly became the rule from about 3000 B.C. right down to the present in most of the world. I did not initially realize, when my creative side was cracked open like an egg and all these stories began to flow out in a confused rush, that I was indeed channeling my own past lives. "But now I recognize that is the level of the unseen world of the subconscious mind or, the 'spiritual realm' if you prefer, that I am connected to and which continues to inspire and almost compel me to write these stories." She goes on to say, "The creative opening that has sparked the writing of my novel, People of the Bear Mother, is the first in a series I call Periplus of the Sea of Souls, which has come at the end of a long spiritual unfoldment. I now recognize that the inspiration for these stories is coming from deep within as a channeling of my own past lives. I see that this soul-evolution has been much, much longer in coming than I ever could have imagined before this burst of creative energy began bringing these stories to consciousness. I like to say that I have the opposite of 'writer’s block' as these many stories are all clamoring to be told. "After a career in academic research and writing, this flow of inspiration as a creative writer was a complete surprise and an unintended consequence of learning how to go within and open myself to the vast subconscious, or spiritual realm of existence, that lies within each and every one of us. "I see now that I have been on this spiritual quest for many lifetimes. But like Little Bear, the heroine of this first novel, I have been searching 'outside' myself through others: wise teachers, gurus, authority figures, sacred writings, etc. without having ever had my own mystical, spiritual experience of connecting with something other or greater than myself until now. This mystical, metaphysical union with the universe at the level of past lives is now the source of my creative writing. This is how the mystical traditions of all time have understood it: the mystical experience cannot be sought or taught and each must open to it in their own way and in their own time. The coming of this experience can no more be predicted than what you will dream tonight because they all come from the same source." Welcome to Mystic Stories of the Universe, where TD Austin will share her book writing experiences, and I will comment now and then. Continue reading

Guest post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess Hot on the heels of the news last week that LinkedIn had seen a major increase in its shares, the idea popped into my head that if shares (ie money) are up, then must that mean that more people are utilizing this professional networking site? To my non financial mind, I felt the answer was a resounding "yes!" LinkedIn profiles can help you stand out from the crowd when you’re looking for a job or if you’re an entrepreneur seeking new clients. If professionals are flocking to use this site, that means that you should make certain you not only have a professional presence, but you should have a complete profile as well. Here are my tips to making certain your LinkedIn profile is not only complete, but compelling: Add keywords for past positions you have held. While you don’t want to be keyword-heavy, you do want to be found by potential employers or business partners. Include words that have actual meaning. The term “project manager” is obtuse and may not garner you the attention you’re seeking while “special project manager for social media management and recruitment” narrows your focus. Don’t forget an employer. It could be tedious to include every job you’ve ever held but LinkedIn could be the place to cite your experience where in a hard copy resume you would leave off “paper boy” and “lawn mower.” Be judicious in your past employment though as it’s likely that having been a “paper boy” hasn’t influenced your current position unless you are now the editor or publisher of a newspaper, then its relevance is clear. List your specialties. LinkedIn offers this keyword-focused area for your use and you should harness its power as it helps employers find you in the crowd. Use keywords that have relevance and searchability in your particular industry/area of expertise. What does your subheader say to the reader? LinkedIn will grab the title of your most current job and use that under your profile. If this title isn’t what you want to be known for/found as, change it. For example, “Jane Doe, CEO” doesn’t really say much but, “Jane Doe, Print Marketing Extraordinaire CEO” says a bit more about what you do and what you could bring to the table. Make certain your LinkedIn profile URL is personalized. LinkedIn generates a URL for you but you can change it to your name and that will make you more searchable. You can also add a tagline to your profile URL if you’d like, for example: johndoesalesguru – you can add your name and your company name. When is the last time you looked at your LinkedIn profile? Now might be the time to update it and make it as searchable as possible. Continue reading

by Yvonne DiVita When W.R. Widerberg asked if I'd review his series of books about the future of the world, I have to admit I hesitated just a bit. Don't get me wrong. I love science fiction. I love futuristic stories. I love reading, as you know. But, what did I know about W.R. Widerberg? Nothing. I took a chance because the cover of the book was compelling, and the blurb on the cover drew me in, "Far in the frozen future the fate of the Camarilla, the last civilisation on earth, rests in one girl's hands..." Mind you, I was prepared to be disappointed, as I had been in The Hunger Games. But, I was also game. Turns out, my gut knew better than I did. This series of stories told in a futurist world is far more entertaining and engrossing than that other one... I need not continue to mention the name of it. The second movie is already being promoted via the web. 6001 Ice World: Invasion of the Torterats outshines many other books in its genre. The writing brings the world to life by drawing the reader into the story - you care about the people of the Camarilla, you care about the young girl chosen to lead them, you care about the war with the Torterats. I had no trouble breezing through the book and wanting more. This story weaves the past and the present in rich prose that takes you from today - where technology and war with military grade weapons threatens us all - to the world the Camarilla live in, all snow, ice and hunger. The Camarilla know nothing of the times before (well, until book two)- they struggle to survive each day...but they have family, they have friendship, they have intelligence. And they persevere to live another day, despite the torterats. The leader, revealed further in the story, is female. Strong, not smarter than others, but with the kind of leadership qualities we talk about today - drawing others to her; doubting herself but making the decision anyway; always mindful of the clan, the small group of humans who trust in her to choose correctly. There is an antagonist, of course. Another girl who feels she is the better leader. The struggle between them is worth a story of its own, in my opinion. The unfolding of the tale - life in a frozen tundra, a small band of humans led by a worried girl who is never sure of herself (but rises to the occasion more than once...and who grows and learns with each tough choice she makes), ever pursued by a terrible band of beasts intent on ending the human race, is full of danger, of wonder, of anxiety and ...yes, hope. The beasts are very interesting and play a big part in subsequent books, by the way. I recommend this as a great weekend read - get the entire series, 6001: The Sleepers and 6001: Land of Fire. You'll be entertained, you'll be enthralled, you'll be cheering the Camarilla on to success - and you'll forget about that other book... When you're done with all three, I predict you'll write to the author asking where book #4 is. So, W.R. Widerberg, when can we see book #4? Continue reading

by Yvonne DiVita On Google? On Google+? Know what you're doing? Me, neither. I'm still learning Google+ and not doing very well at it. I just don't seem to have time. When people say that to me, I look them in the eye and ask, "Do you have time to market your business online...other ways? Why not experiment with Google+ instead of LinkedIn today? Why not make it your business to figure this out...and THEN you can decide if it's worth your time or not." And then, I go off and don't take my own advice. Sigh. Here's a great chart to help you get started... and if you're a Google+ Diva, please share some insight with the rest of us. What are we missing? What should we do first? Is this worth our time...or not? Is the graphic here any help at all? What's up with the Circles thing and the hangouts? What are the rest of us missing? Like this infographic? Grab a proven framework for content marketing that works from Copyblogger. Continue reading

by Yvonne DiVita Once upon a dream, I saw tomorrow and it was good. I dreamt of yesterday but it slipped through my fingers...it melted on my jeans and left a stain that will not come out. Once upon a dream, I glimpsed a sunny day - when all I'd known was rain. I tried to escape the rain, to reach the warmth of that sun, but the rain was me and I was the rain, and the sun was just... a dream. Once upon a dream, I hunkered down in a dark corner... a tiny thing, of no consequence... afraid to unfold myself and venture out into the room. I only saw shadows - nothing but gray shadows. In my dream, I sat mute - listening to the sounds around me. Strange sounds - like words and voices, but far off, unintelligible. Once upon a dream, I did not believe in tomorrow. And then, I woke up. I woke up and discovered it was tomorrow. I discovered that the dream was not reality. I discovered the sun, the trees, the bees, the flowers... and all the life around me. I walked out of my empty, dark room and I embraced friendship and warmth. I looked at rainbows in wonder and realized I had lived too long in the dream. My once upon a time became a new world of possibility, of people, of pets, of excitement. I have a new dream - filled with opportunity and expectation. I remember the old dream, it will never leave me completely. But the new dream is stronger; it commands my presence and guides me toward the places I want to be. Once upon a dream - I thought there was nothing beyond my fingertips worth striving for. Once I stood up, and walked forward, I discovered a solid foundation beneath my feet... that led to amazing places. I find myself still moving forward - to new amazing places, down roads that wind and twist, and sometimes seem come to an abrupt halt... until I look around, step off the beaten path, and stroll along a new road, off to achieve my life's desire - which is to bring others out into the light of the world where old dreams can drift off like morning fog, and new dreams can burst forth like a summer sun. Join me? Continue reading

Guest post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess As a solopreneur that works from home I have the luxury and freedom of a schedule and wardrrobe of my own making. I also have the isolation and loneliness and void of having no one to bounce ideas off of and no one to be accountable to. I don't have a boss hanging over my shoulder expecting resutls by 5 pm. Sure, I have clients that expect results, but as long as they're delivered in a timely fashion, it doesn't really matter if I perform at 6 am or 6 pm or midnight, right? Wrong... if I want to have any kind of a lifestyle. Last week I made the leap and "got" an accountability partner. My partner, Anne McAuley, is involved in the same field of expertise that I am and that's a boon as we know the obstacles faced in that career path and we can help each other brainstorm and our connections feed off of each other. We sent messages to each other of the items to which we wanted to be held accountable and when we got on the phone we hashed them out, set goals and planned for another talk. I think it's going to work! Here are the reasons I decided it was time to seek out an accountability partner: If you want to propel your business forward in 2013, you might need a bit of a shove to make it happen. Are you stuck on not knowing where or how else to market yourself and your services? An accountability partner might have great ideas and insights you'd never considered. A brainstorm partner. Having someone you can go to when you need to brainstorm -- whether it's a blog topic for a new client, the best way to set up your editorial calendar, or whether a project you're considering is even a good fit -- helps you connect and uncover new avenues. As the name so clearly states... having someone to be accountable to is a big part of it. If I sit at home and say "I should write a newsletter" the only one listening in the Diva Poodle Henrietta. If I speak it out loud to Anne, she is going to ask me about it when we speak next. Knowing I have to perform and report to someone is a motivator. Your own cheerleading section. If you are an entrepreneur and you reside with a non entrepreneur, he or she may not understand how BIG your successes are when you reach them. An accountability partner understands every hard won success and will raise a virtual glass of wine with you! Increased productivity anyone? While the joys of working from home and being self employed are myriad, it is easy to slip into periods of time when you spend far too many hours on Pinterest looking at crafts that you will never complete, playing Words with Friends, or simply trolling Facebook to see who's having more fun than you are! Knowing that you could reach out to your accountability partner and say.... "Help!" is a stress reliever and can enhance productivity. I'm looking at 2013 as a year of change and growth for my business and believe having someone to be accountable with will help me grow. Have you ever considered a partnership to help grow your business? Continue reading

Guest post by Hannah Morgan, The Career Sherpa The interview is over and you are relieved, but don’t relax yet, your work isn’t done. Thanking the interviewer could be one of the most important step you can take in closing the deal! Do you wonder what you should you say? Here are the answers to the five most commonly asked thank you letter questions. When Do I Send My Thank You? You should send your thank you immediately following your interview. Usually that means within 24 to 48 hours. Actually, let’s step back a second. Before you leave the interview you must ask a couple of really important questions! 1. What are the next steps in the process 2. What is their time-frame for making a decision AND if you don’t hear from them by the stated date, what is the best way for you to follow up? These questions serve a couple of purposes. First, asking these questions shows you are interested in the job and will take accountability for following up. Second, you now know when you should follow up and you’ve gotten their permission, so you won’t feel like a pest when you do follow up. Do I really need to send a thank you? There is more than one reason you are writing this letter. You are being polite, yes. But above and beyond that, this is part of the sales process. You are convincing them that you are the right candidate. Additionally, sending a thank you helps make you memorable. Believe it or not, not everyone sends a thank you. When the organization is interviewing lots of people, it is very easy for them to mix candidates up or forget specifics. Your thank you helps remind them who you are! In fact, according to CareerBuilder’s 2011 study, one out of five hiring managers are less likely to hire someone who does NOT send a cover letter. Is It a Letter or a Note? The interview is a business transaction. It isn’t a birthday party, bridal shower or social event. This is why I strongly believe your thank you should be in typed letter with three paragraphs (just like your cover letter). Yes, this is a much debated topic and I’ve heard the arguments for a handwritten note. But I am taking a stand on this. You have more to say than just “thank you” and that may be difficult to do in a handwritten note. How Long Should it Be? The letter should be easily digestible by the reader. Keep it a single page with three simple paragraphs. Paragraph 1: This two- or three-sentence paragraph explains why you are writing…thank you. Paragraph 2: This paragraph reminds the interviewer why your specific skills are a match for the job and how you will add value to their organization. This might also be an opportunity to address any of your areas of weakness during the interview or to improve upon an answer you gave during the interview. Paragraph 3: In this paragraph, emphasize your gratitude for the opportunity and state when YOU will be following up. If you can accomplish this in a handwritten note, be my guest! Snail Mail vs. E-Mail? You know what their time frame is for making a decision so let that determine the sense of urgency and how you decide to deliver your Thank You. It isn’t about which is easier for you. Think about the impression you will be making on the other person. Sometimes you may want to do both. If this is the case, make the email different from the letter. Email, by definition, is shorter and a bit less formal. Go ahead and send a well crafted email thanking the interviewer(s) for their time and indicate that you have mailed them a letter as well. Additional Pointers Interject the right tone/personality to fit the organizational culture and personality of the person interviewing you. Customize your letter for each and every interview and interviewer (no form letters, please). Be as specific as possible when talking about how your skills/qualifications match the job and why that is of value to the organization. Use a formal business letter heading and closing. Quintessential Careers has a vast collection of Sample Job Interview and Career Thank You letters. I recommend you check them out to get ideas on how to phrase your own letter! Continue reading

by Yvonne DiVita I seem to have misplaced Friday. Did you see it lying around your desk, anywhere? It came and went on my end, before I even knew it. Saturday followed. Hence, I am doing Friday Musings ... on a Sunday. Truth is, the day doesn't matter. Musings being what they are - vague or jumbled thoughts on one thing or another. I have them often, not just on Fridays. Surely, you do, too? This week I'm struck by the nuances of life. How life unfolds for each of us. How we, as human beings, grasp or don't grasp the meaning of our consciousness - our lifeblood - our 'being', if you will. Facebook abounds with daily affirmations - be all you can be, look forward not back, forgive and forget; the messages are all the same, written in different words, shared in different fonts, circulated via social media until they finally land on Pinterest. The troubling part is that most of us grab onto those affirmations and cling to them for dear life. Surely, we think (I imagine we think), if I learn to live this quote, my life will improve. Surely, we muse, if I share this quote, someone else's life will improve. Surely, we believe, this is what life is about. Life is not about affirmations. Life is not about sharing affirmations. Life is not about... learning to accept your lot and "love what you have"... rather than striving for things you can't have. Life is about so much more. And so much less. I will not presume to tell you what YOUR life should be about. I will merely suppose that if you truly want to understand your purpose on Earth, you take steps to do so. Unplug from the Internet. Step away from your desk. Move to the front door... go through it... now, walk. Think. Enjoy the day. Think about ... that which you routinely push away or ignore. Bring your mind to a place of question. Why? Why are you avoiding whatever it is you're avoiding? Why isn't life giving you roses... surely you've asked for roses and the saying goes, "Ask and you shall receive." So, where are the roses? Oh, there they are. In someone else's yard. Why do THEY have roses? Why do you care? It's not up to me, or friends and family on Facebook or Pinterest, to lift you up, build you up, support you as you trudge from day to day, somewhat lost in a dreaded routine that will not release you. It's up to you. I will share one thing that I believe... which has stayed me through many difficult times... which has given me the answers when I thought I had none... which has shown me how to break those chains of daily routine (when, in reality, I am someone who likes routine)... That one thing is a word. One word. Choice. Life is about choice. YOU choose the life you live by making the choices you make. Choose thoughtfully. Choose wisely. Be held to task by that inner voice whispering to you. What to do. What to do. What to do! I hear that lament daily... many times a day. You know the answer. Make a choice. And, if tomorrow you decide today's choice was wrong, change. It's as simple as that. I'm choosing to walk the dogs and go shopping. See you in the funny papers, as they say. Continue reading

Guest post by Patrick Rosario According to American Express, the number of woman owned $1 million dollar businesses are growing. More women are taking the plunge and starting businesses of their own. This increase in not only female entrepreneurs, but high grossing female entrepreneurs has led to a shift in business leadership styles. Men and women alike have taken notice to the success of females in the market and with that have made an effort to shift a primarily male dominant industry to a business community that can thrive on the female style of management. Here are some of the key components of the women’s entrepreneurship style that are taking the business world by storm. Collaboration over Competition In a world of man versus man, the competition was fierce. But now, while it is still necessary to compete to be successful in the marketplace, the way in which this is happening is shifting. Women are creating their competitive advantage by collaborating with other similar businesses to build their offering. In the former male dominated industry, while partnerships existed, it was more about how to beat the other players within your industry, instead of how to work with others who can improve your overall value. Multitasking Champions Women are well-known for their ability to multi-task and this has been named one of the key features of their success as entrepreneurs. Women are inherently better at doing multiple things at once. As an entrepreneur, there are constantly questions, ideas, opportunities, and work flying in your direction. The classic female quality of being able to take each of these things on at one time and organizing them into manageable chaos has led to a new style of entrepreneurialism in the market overall. With the fast pace of today’s society, being able to juggle multiple tasks and to-do lists has become a necessity to be successful. With more entrepreneurs open to this and teaching themselves how to tackle lengthy to-do lists, there has been a general shift in the style in which businesses are run today. Growth of Networks In what used to be a male dominated industry, females have come together in support of one another, and to give the encouragement every entrepreneur will at some point need. This growth in networking and coming together to share lessons learned about entrepreneurialism has proven to be beneficial to businesses overall, more networking groups are popping up. The power of having a group of women, or people behind not only your new business, but also you as a person propels entrepreneurs beyond their own realm of what they initially thought possible. Because of this incredible support system, more people are taking advantage and putting other people’s expertise to use for their business by joining a networking group either online or in their area. Improved Technology Most businesses start with an idea to fulfill an unmet need. For women who initially took on the role of running the household, starting a business while maintaining the health and well-being of their family meant starting their own business from their kitchen table or home office. With the advancement of technology today, more women are able to do this by connecting online and helping each other. Partnerships are easier to form, and there are websites, such as etsy.com, that have made it easier to get your product out on the market. By using websites such as this and current technology to communicate better together, female run companies have seen more growth because they are able to connect with other women who are in their same position, all via the internet. This improvement in the way society communicates and interacts today has lent itself to a growth in the female style of leadership of working better together to team up instead of team against each other. About the Author: Patrick Del Rosario is part of the team behind Open Colleges, one of Australia’s pioneer and leading providers of globally competitive Management Courses first rate certificate in training and assessment. When not working, Patrick enjoys blogging about career and business. Patrick is also a photography enthusiast and is currently running a photography studio in the Philippines. If you have a blog and would like to feature his works, you can find him here. Continue reading

by Yvonne DiVita Who remembers the good old days of blogging? When blogs and bloggers were scary to big and small businesses, everywhere? Blog? Not them! They didn't want anything to do with those loud-mouthed, obnoxious, gossip-mongers who were cluttering up the web with their 'chatter'. I remember them well. I remember arguing with many a CEO about blogging - shortly after Lipsticking was launched. I saw the power of the written word being used to communicate beyond telephones, TV, ads in magazines, and more. I realized that forming personal relationships online was a good thing, not a scary thing. Those who were willing to listen, and try it for themselves, often found my teaching to be truthful. Others, who didn't much like the whole online communication thing, did not. It got me to thinking about a T-shirt I have that my friend Toby Bloomberg gave me, many years ago, now. It says, "A-list blogger - You May Be Blogged". I always thought it should say "you will be blogged" because... if you're a blogger, you blog about everything - your cat, your coffee, your next business meeting, the weather... all the same things you talk about. I also began to wonder - if that's true, what's a person to do about not being blogged about? I mean, maybe I don't want you blogging about me. So, I came up with the Top Ten Ways To Spot a Blogger at Ten Paces... A blogger is usually dressed casually but might, sometimes, be in a business suit or high heels, if she's a woman. Pay attention to clothes, they're a dead give away. A blogger usually has a smart phone pressed to his or her ear. They're listening to another blogger and already composing a new blog post as they pace back and forth during the conversation. A blogger will ask you a lot of questions. "When did you start here?" "Where do you live?" "When was the last time you travelled to China?" They don't pry too much, but they pry. A blogger might be clutching the worn leash of an adorable Pug or a German Shepherd, the better to strike up conversations with unsuspecting passers-by. "Oh, what a cute dog!" you'll say, and the blogger, with a gleam in her eye will say, "I know! I thought so too when I saw her in the litter at my best friend's house. Say, aren't you..." And so it goes. You would think a blogger would be pasty faced from spending so much time indoors blogging, but the truth is... bloggers blog from anywhere, on their smart phone. They don't stick to homebase. They blog at the park, they blog at the supermarket, they blog in church. Oh my, yes they do. A blogger is eager to learn. Regardless of what he blogs about, a blogger needs information the way others need air. He studies his topic and researches it and keeps a log of everything he learns. He accosts the other bloggers he knows, who are expert at his topic, hoping for an interview, and reads other blogs like you drink coffee - with a passion! You know it's blogging that consumes him because he has that, "I need to talk to you," look in his eye when you meet him...wherever. A blogger respects other people's privacy, if it needs respecting. So, you won't find a blogger lurking about your house spying on you. You will find her checking up on you if you're a public figure. You won't find her sneaking up to a conversation at a networking event, hovering just within earshot. She'll barge right in and introduce herself...and you will be warned, "I'm a blogger." With a smile. Bloggers want to accomplish things. They want to communicate. They look like reporters - but without the hats. They sometimes wear badges to let you know they're media - but it's a courtesy given proudly because... well, they are proud. Proud to be a voice for their topic. The badge is one of honor - don't misjudge it as a boast. Bloggers can write like journalists... but, most often, they write like... people. Like you. Or me. There's a conversational quality about their work. When they talk to you, they talk like... a person having a conversation. Generally, they aren't afraid of approaching you - whether they know you or not. Sometimes, they are. Yes, there are shy bloggers. Shy bloggers smile a lot and wait for you to make the first move. Bloggers are up at dawn. Or, sometimes they sleep in. Or, sometimes they write late at night. They're on Facebook and Twitter and Pinterest and they love meeting new people. They ride the bus, they drive to a regular job, they work at home, they network online and offline, they lament over missing conferences, they walk their dogs and shoo their cats from their desks... Sound like anyone you know? Continue reading

by Yvonne DiVita, Founder of Lipsticking, Co-Founder of BlogPaws The nook I used to sit in on cold winter afternoons, with a book propped up on my knees, was halfway up the stairs, in the old house of ours. It was a small house. A tiny house by some standards. But, I was only 12 and had nothing to compare it to, so I thought it was grand. There I'd be, on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, curled up in the corner of that nook - the windowseat covered with a soft cushion that barely offered comfort to my skinny bottom. The door to the downstairs was closed. We kept it closed in the winter, to keep the warm air downstairs. I would pull a blanket up around my shoulders and cozy on down into it... keeping that book propped up just so... just so I could lose myself in it and be one with the story. I can still feel the cold air settling on my ears. I can see the windowpane fog up. I can see the house next door, and the trees with their bare, black branches bouncing in the wind. The memory of how wonderful it all was - me in my little happy place, complete with my book and just myself - and the smell of chicken cooking downstairs, the muffled sounds of my mother talking to my father or my brother/sister, the only light to read by coming from a break in the winter clouds now and then... a world separate and apart from the weekday hustle; a world created by me, and my book. There's a lot of talk about where books are "going" today. Will printed books still be around in 3-5-10 years? Do ebooks really spell the death of the "book" as we know it? We, of course, being those of us who grew up reading in those favorite knooks, on cold winter afternoons (or curled up under a tree, on warm summer afternoons). Books are so ingrained in the human experience, I do not believe for one minute that they will ever go out of print or style. No matter how busy we get or how technologically savvy, we will want books - the physical books of old, in our homes, in our lives, in our hands. We will want to have books sitting proudly on bookshelves in our homes - whether we display them in a "library" or just on a wall in the living room. We will crave the feel of them - the touch and smell and experience of them. We, as human beings, as creatures that love to lose ourselves in our imagination, need the physical presence of books to transport us to those faraway places we so crave to visit. Books, the kinds of books you read in bed, or in the corner of a loveseat, lost in the pages, hardly aware of turning them, are a necessity of life for many of us. Ah, the joy of closing the book when one is done reading it - of looking up into the dim afternoon light, seeing the characters still alive in your mind, already planning to grab a new book and continue the quest for... for... what? For completeness. Books complete me. Novels, stories, characters, settings, all important elements of books, got me through some tough times when I was a kid. And, I know they are helping many people (children some) today, get through tough times. They will not go away. Ever. Not the books I know. Related articles A Bookwyrm in Winter Continue reading

by Megan Totka, Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com The business side of building and maintaining a successful company takes a lot of energy. Add in additional responsibilities like family, home maintenance and special interests, and it makes for a pretty full schedule for a business owner. For most small business owners, however, the work that they do is about more than turning a profit. The ideals of a business and the ideals of its owner are often interchangeable. Finding ways to run a socially conscious business is important to many owners. For some, this means selling locally-made items or only using fair-trade materials. For others, social consciousness is reinforcing your small business’ core values in the form of community outreach and charitable donations. If you are looking for ways to give back under the umbrella of your company name, here are some tips to get started: Create a budget. Decide how much money you can afford to donate in a given year, along with how many hours of time you and your employees will volunteer. If there is a service or product that you can donate, add up how much is feasible. Figure out if you can give your employees paid time off to volunteer, and if so, how much time? When you start out, you may find that you are only able to give a small amount of money and time. Do not let this discourage you though. Every little bit helps and over time, you may find ways to be even more generous. Do your research. Even if you think that you know what each charity and non-profit organization stands for, dig a little bit deeper. Find out what percentage of the proceeds go directly to the cause, if there are any exclusions to who receives aid and what is at the heart of the organization’s mission. Sometimes in your research you will find that some good causes are using innovative ways for people to donate. Just remember, if you are attaching your company name to these activities, you want them to reflect your own beliefs as an individual and member of the business community. Set an example. While it is great to encourage employees to volunteer, and even provide incentives, the best way to get everyone in your company fired up for service is by getting out there and participating yourself. You do not have to draw huge amounts of attention to the act, but be visible. Put on a pair of gloves and clean up trash in a local park. Dish out meals to those who are hungry in your community. Sort food and supplies for disaster relief. Do more than simply embrace the idea of service; make the service happen. Build a brand-specific initiative. Whenever possible, build your small business brand by establishing a specific service initiative with your business. Do not just show up during community events and blend in with the other volunteers or send a check to a general fund once per month. The founder of the popular bakery and restaurant Panera Bread wanted to find a way to address hunger issues in communities where he had locations. Instead of simply giving money to established hunger charities, Ron Shaich and other company leaders developed Panera Cares, an innovative approach to providing a restaurant-style meal to those that cannot pay. Figure out ways that you can do the same thing on a smaller scale. Talk with directors of these organizations in order to come up with a schedule or specialized fund that has your name attached. While promotion is certainly not the main reason to reach out, committing your company to a cause and then backing it up brings a greater responsibility, and return. If there is a way to incorporate themes of your business into the service, that’s even better. It can be easy to get caught up in the everyday routine of running a company and forget about the other things that make your business valuable to the community at large. Creating a culture of social responsibility starts with your example. Look for innovative ways to combine your personal outreach goals with those of your business. Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com. She specializes in editing business news. ChamberofCommerce.com helps business on the web with their effective tools for businesses. Continue reading

by Yvonne DiVita I don't actually know why women like shoes so much. But, we do. I know that we like multiples of many things - different colors of the same blouse or pair of jeans and tons, yes tons, of different colored lipsticks (no, they are not all the same color and if you can't see the differences, well... you're not a girl). We like to change up our bedclothes on a regular basis. I'm looking for a new bedspread for spring/summer right now. Something bright and colorful, to dress up the bedroom. The history of women's shopping habits is an interesting web topic, but to say you understand why women buy, or how they shop, is a risky comment. You may 'think' you understand why the women in your life shop - your wife, or sister, or mother, or daughter; but do you really? Even if you followed them to their favorite store and watched them shop, you'd come away as clueless as ever - because each shopping trip is different than the one before. Women are complex creatures. That's the be all and end all of understanding us. The common lament from men, "What do women want?" falls on deaf ears because women, as a collective, want different things than women as individuals may want. And, in the end, we all want the same things. Did that help? Here are the top 5 things women want from any brand... (1) Women want to be respected. That means, involve us in the planning of your next product. Ask us what we liked or didn't like about your previous products. Don't ignore our Facebook posts and Twitter comments, as if they don't matter. We're sharing them for two reasons - we want to applaud or criticize to help you improve, and we want to make sure our friends know how much we love you - or not. Respect our opinions. (2) Women want you to make life easy for us. If you're selling online, make the visuals easy, fun, and interactive. Let me choose how to view the product, or what color I want to see - show me accessories or comments from my 'friends'. We may not want to read long reviews ( we are always time-crunched), but we like that pithy note from a recent purchaser. (3) Women want to have fun. And share it with others. Help us be sociable. Be creative and innovative in your social channels. We love playing games and entering contests. Don't assume we won't like something because we're women - investigate! Ask us! Most marketing thinks we're all about cost or savings. If you pay much attention to marketing to women campaigns on TV or even the net, they all seem to apporach the sales process believing women spend their free time dreaming of visits to Walmart, because... it's cheap and easy. Which... must make us cheap and easy, I guess. Which we are not. Even those of us who shop at Walmart. We're all high-maintenance - we like nice things - we enjoy making our families happy by shopping for them on special occasions - and we are big on communication. Yes, we talk to each other. A lot. (4) Women want you to tell them a story. A good story.The story of you - and why you started your company. Make the story colorful, show us your favorite vacation site or hotel, share a little memory from your childhood - don't lie. Then, ask us to tell you our story. That's called engagement...it's part of the communication we value so highly. (5) Women want you to recognize that we buy everything - including our own cars, tires for those cars, electronics, tools for the garage, paint for the basement, leather jackets, and anything else you can think of. Don't limit our options! And, we shop for shoes incessantly, online and offline. Just accept it - women love shoes. Right now, I'm hunkering after the ones shown here. Continue reading