I've been with Typepad almost 2 years now. Though I was a WordPress user, I thought I'd try a different platform for my 'new' blog...Burke's Bits. Well, I think I've given Typepad enough time to grow on me and it hasn't. I know it works well for many people. I know that Six Apart has worked hard to ensure that the new look and feel will be good for the people. But honestly, I'm a WordPress person at heart. So, for the moment, Burke's Bits will no longer exist. I have a personal blog at Grow Because You Know and... Continue reading

“So, tell me, what do you do?” A question posed by attendees to each other as they network – whether at a formal event sponsored by a local business or at a more casual event sponsored by a chamber of commerce or other membership group. My response has changed over time. Partly because I get tired of saying the same thing all the time, mostly because people simply don’t understand. Not everyone! Not every time! Which is why I have a second or third description handy. For instance, when talking about my research business, I will say: I am an... Continue reading

I read this and said "huh?" I know...lame, right? Well, at zenhabits.net there is a description of amazing that resonated with me. He says ... "Amazing is in the eye of the beholder - Mozart's Amazing Work would be different than my Amazing Work. We should all strive to be the greatest we can be. Amazing Work can be any kind of work, if it's fulfilling your potential." Wow. Finally. Somebody offers a definition that I not only understand, but can honestly say I am now doing! Hey, this is my revelation - not to worry, it will make sense... Continue reading

Image by Beverly & Pack via Flickr It is Memorial Day here in the United States. I want to honor all the men and women who have served in uniform for our country in defense of freedom and human dignity, and who have responded to our country's call; especially those who have been injured, and most fervently to the families of those who, as Lincoln noted, "gave their last full measure of devotion." May we all honor that sacrifice. The hottest place in hell is reserved for those who do not take sides during a period of crisis. ~John F.... Continue reading

I had the pleasure of spending an entire day at the Kentucky Fair & Expo Center in Louisville, KY as a judge in the DECA National Competition – High School Division. 13,000 students from around the country, having competed in their local and state level, converged on Louisville over the weekend. Entered in numerous categories related to business and marketing, these students presented business plans, marketing plans, advertising campaigns, and more. I was a judge in the Internet Marketing category and was treated to some outstanding online marketing plans. Some were for fictitious businesses, while others were for actual businesses... Continue reading

Building a successful research business means that an independent information professional should have excellent research skills. Continue reading

The skills a good independent information professional should have start with people skills, but include business, personal management, entrepreneurial, and information skill as well. There's more to being an info pro than being able to find something on the internet and send it to a client. Continue reading

As a business owner I know that making effective sales presentations is key to growing my business. As a member of Toastmasters, every speech I give provides me with excellent feedback. As an attendee to NSA Kentucky Speaker School Spring Training Camp with Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE I was bombarded with outstanding information and excellent tools to add to my arsenal of speaking skills. This past Friday I was treated to her session:“Good to Great: Taking Your Presentation to the Next Level” and within minutes I knew I was in the right place. How Well do You Speak Now? She... Continue reading

This post was originally published as a guest post at The Life Uncommon blog and I thought I'd share it with you. If life is a journey to find myself, then how do I cope with being lost until then? *sigh* Yes, I asked such a question once. I was annoyed. For many years, well into my 20s, I had the misconception that life was all about ‘finding myself’. I would hear an encouraging word from a teacher “not to worry, as you grow up you find out who you really are”, or from a wannabe hippy aunt “life is... Continue reading

Sometimes I wake up feeling just like this. Scritchy, slow, cumbersome, and just plain icked out at the thought of it being Monday. What about you? It doesn’t matter that I have great clients. Nor does it matter that I have interesting and challenging projects to work on. And I don’t recall a nightmare or uneasy sleep. Then again, I was sleeping, wasn’t I? I guess my point is this: I am human and sometimes I just don’t want to participate in the day. Then I make a pot of coffee. We grind our own French Roast beans, Eight O’Clock... Continue reading

If you’re on the internet much, you’ve probably already seen this. Personally I find it intriguing and delightful, fascinating and fun. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I’m naturally curious, inquisitive and persistent in my pursuit of answers. Another trait that I am known for is ‘doing things the hard way’. Just ask my mother…my husband…my father…my brothers…my friends…okay, just ask anyone who knows me. When approaching a project for a client, I have a process that I follow to help me avoid the hard way and keep me focused. When approaching a project for myself... Continue reading

Posting a Follow Friday list on a blog helps explain why these people are being recommended. Continue reading

Inspired by this post written by Chrysty Beverley Fortner, where she lists 7 steps to keeping up with the changing times in your business, I thought I’d refine the ideas a bit to better suit my current state of business; not only my new business focus, but also being flexible enough to respond to my clients, the economy, and my desire to learn new skills: Develop and maintain relationships with people in my industry so that I’m aware of new technologies and trends that will affect how I organize my work and do business with my clients. Monitor and evaluate... Continue reading

From a January 20, 2010 Press Release on Cision’s site: A national survey conducted by Cision and Don Bates of The George Washington University’s Master’s Degree Program in Strategic Public Relations found that an overwhelming majority of reporters and editors now depend on social media sources when researching their stories. Among the journalists surveyed, 89% said they turn to blogs for story research, 65% to social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, and 52% to microblogging services such as Twitter. The survey also found that 61% use Wikipedia, the popular online encyclopedia. The first question that comes to mind... Continue reading

Don’t let the picture fool you, it has been a productive and interesting week here. Every day was spent working on a client project, while also attending networking events, a professional development webinar, and a Toastmasters Officer meeting/training session. The highlights for me were meeting with a CPA who trained me on QuickBooks Pro 2010 , meeting with the President, Sales Director and Marketing Director of an exciting start-up company needing online marketing services, and hearing an Efficiency Expert present at a local networking event and talk about the how-to of creating a sustainable process for organizing the office that... Continue reading

And now it’s time for another segment of Did You Know? The occasional post about interesting, odd, unusual and sometimes downright icky facts from around the world. Based on my curiosity or someone else’s inquiry. Today’s request comes from a client who wants to know more about human sacrifice. The price was right so I didn’t ask too many questions, and besides, I can’t reveal the answers because of who the client is – so chew on that for a moment! The research started online, and I went to Google books first. From the many books I have read, the... Continue reading

Burke Research Services was officially started in 2008. It would have been much sooner, but I didn’t have access to high-speed internet (DSL) until summer of 2008. Then in March of 2009, Search by Burke was born as a division. Why? Because not only do I love research, hunting for information, digging for the truth/numbers/quote/etc., but I also know and enjoy online marketing (email marketing, blogging, SEO, analytics, etc.). So now I’m a small business. As defined by the US Small Business Administration website, that means I have less than 500 employees and my revenues are $7M or less. Hmm,... Continue reading

Google, Yahoo! and Bing. Dow Jones, Hoover’s and Dialog. Social media, newspapers and magazines. Telephone, coffee shop and checkout counter at department store. These are just a few examples of where we get information. Some of what we hear or see is white noise, not relevant to our daily lives and definitely not relevant to a client. Then again, some of what we hear, see and find is very relevant – and that is when it is important that we know how to evaluate the source of the information to determine credibility and reliability. Really, now, if you think about... Continue reading