It’s our birthdays - but you’re getting the gift!
Good friend Shannon Cherry and I have a lot in common: being entrepreneurs, having two daughters and being a bit geeky. We also share the same week for our birthdays - which are only a day apart. We both like a good party - and thought how can we celebrate with all our friends and colleagues when we’re thousands of miles apart?
Then we decided to use the Business & Learning webinar platform to host a birthday bash unlike any other - because we’re giving you the gifts!
That’s right. On January 23 at 9 PM (EST), join Shannon & I for a virtual cupcake, fun times, and some great door prizes. We’re hosting a f^ree-for-all publicity chat, where you can ask Shannon and me anything about offline or online marketing. From websites and blogs to direct mail and mastering the media, Shannon and I will share all our insider secrets - for f^ree.
And if you’re a virtual assistant, you really need to be on this chat, as Shannon & I are giving away a special press release for you to use to market your business.
So put on your party hat, come with your burning marketing and publicity questions, and join us for Shannon’s and Tammy’s Birthday Blowout! Simply log in at http://www.businessandlearning.com/expo on January 23 at 9 PM (EST).
To log into the conference room, enter your first and last name with the password:learning . It’s an audio conference room so make sure you have your mic and/or speakers plugged and turned on. It’s Mac and PC Friendly, so everyone can attend.
Hope to see you there!
Tammy
12 days of Christmas - Entrepreneurial Style
Thanks to Shannon Cherry for letting us know about this video!
Networking From Your Chair!
You know, if you’re a work at home parent – how hard it is to ‘take any time off’ from the house to network and promote your business. What if there was a way to network and share your business without leaving the house.
Let’s say there’s a great event that your company or an association you deal with is putting on over a two day period, somewhere that involves a short flight to get to. You would love to attend (but, but, but), let’s review all this entails, shall we?
• Babysitters – possibly more than one, or maybe writing a manual on how to care for the children and the house for your significant other. This may also involve your partner rearranging their schedule – this may take some hand holding or arm wrestling.
• Preparing a detailed schedule of places, times and supplies needed for the birthday party, Kindermusik and soccer game that will take place while Mom’s out gallivanting around. How DARE she!
• Pet-sitters or arranging a place for them to go while you’re gone. Feeling guilty because you know they are going to be miserable without you.
• Meal planning – taking into consideration the kids only eat things Mom makes, which means they’re going to be living on pizza, cereal and fast food. Can we say cranky and demanding kids when mom returns? Oh wait, that’s normal, forget that one.
• Grocery shopping – probably with the kids since it’s the only ‘quality’ time you’ll get with them before you go.
• Packing - Pack light because you know that you’ll have to leave the car behind and take local transit to get to where you need to be. Sacrificing, so your partner can do what needs to be done while you’re gone.
• Hotel arrangements – the cheapest dirtiest place, furthest from where you need to be because you feel guilty about spending money on something as frivolous as a hotel.
• Flight arrangements – the red eye – cause it was $150 cheaper and you can’t take THREE days off. Plus it’s easier to sneak away in the middle of the night otherwise you’d be attending your event with a kid on each leg.
• Cleaning the house – only to come back to a place worse off than when you left including a week’s worth of laundry and dishes.
• Getting everything related to your work taken care of so that you don’t have to worry about it for two days. Hoping you don’t lose a customer because you didn’t answer their email or phone call within an hour of receiving it or because you weren’t there when they came by to drop off an order.
Do we agree? It takes a few weeks of a whole lot of planning, arguing, negotiating and guilt just to leave the house for two days.
Let’s not even get into the aftermath of taking two days off. You pretty much have to do it all again, while dealing with the kids – who’ve gotten their own way and liked it, pets – that won’t leave your side and follow you everywhere and a partner that’s disappeared for some alone time because two days with full responsibility almost put them in a coma.
But you want to go! So you do it all and then some.
Your event will have networking opportunities in a social setting as well as learning opportunities from people that you look up to and admire. Networking with people that have things in common with you is important for your business and it will all pay off in the long run. Plus it will be a blast! Full on adult conversations not interrupted by a screaming child, dressing up in clothes that won’t get wiped on or spilled upon unless you get a little out of hand during the social event. Justify, justify, justify.
You can do all of this without the hassle if you’re someone that attends online events. No flight, no hotel, Mom is home and taking care of everything, no aftermath, no guilt and no planning. You get to network, socialize and share your business or products with people eliminating the obstacles involved with an in person event.
Forums, Yahoo or Google Groups, Blogs, Blog Comments, Text Chats, Audio Chats, MySpace, Ryze, Networks, Facebook, the list is endless… all places you can network and have conversations from the comfort of your chair. Do yourself, your kids and your partner a favor and explore the opportunities that are available to you right from where you read this article.
Wendy Cooper – A work at home mom, Virtual Assistant and Online Event Organizer who built her business networking online loves helping other work at home business owners realize the value of building relationships from the comfort of their chair. For an awesome, real time opportunity to share your business, products or resources visit http://www.thewahexpo.com
Grow Your Business through Education
As a home business owner, you are most likely always looking for that boost that can help you to take your business to the next level. Right? One of the best options to help you to take your business to the next level is education. Educating yourself about the current trends, newest media opportunities, latest improvements and the like is the best way to ensure that you too can take your business to that next level you so eagerly desire to see it go to.
The best place to learn is from the pros. Don’t you want to learn from someone who has proven that they know and understand what it takes to have a successful business? Well of course, so go straight to the pros when you are looking for educational information, seminars or classes.
Learning from someone else will help you to eliminate those time-wasters that others may have already discovered through their own trial and error and give you the key tools and opportunities that are truly worthwhile. You will know upfront what new methods or services you should seek to use and what you can leave off. Growing your business through education should be at the top of your list as a means by which to truly soar in your business.
This is what the expo is about!
See you there! http://www.thewahexpo.com
WAH Expo Featured Speaker: Shannon Cherry
Shannon Cherry is an entrepreneur ,professional writer and speaker will be presenting at the upcoming Work at Home Expo.
Back by popular demand, Cherry will be presenting on the topic of “The Inside Scoop: Getting reporters to notice you for free publicity.” Her presentation will be held on Tuesday, Nov 13 at 9pm. She will inform participants on how to get free publicity and get reporters to notice you.
Cherry is the founder and president of Cherry Communications and its subsidiary Be Heard Solutions. She works with small business owners and entrepreneurs with the goal of helping them find their voice, tell their story and be heard. Cherry is a former TV and newspaper journalist who has aggressively designed and developed dozens of innovative public relations and marketing strategies.
For more information about how Shannon can help you, please visit one of her websites Cherry Communications or Be Heard Solutions. Also check out Shannon’s blog - Mommy Inc.
Episode 14: Determining Your Target Market’s Needs
This week on Business & Learning’s Flashcast, Tammy talks about determing your target market’s needs and wants thru a variety of strategies.
Upcoming events at Business & Learning:
* Affiliate Workshop October 29, 2007 1pm EST Click here to join us
* Website Review with Tammy & Wendy - October 30, 2007 9-10 pm EST Click here to join us
Don’t Forget!!!! Registration is now open !! Also, check out the new WAH Expo site.
Minimize Your Taxes…Maximize Your Profits!
I came across Kristine’s post about her upcoming FREE seminar and thought I’d share it with all of you!
Kristine is a CPA, Certified Financial Planner and fellow WAHM! She is offering a free seminar to help you answer some of these questions…
- As an online business owner, do you know what your tax responsibilities are?
- Did you know that as an online business owner, you can save money on your taxes by deducting expenses? Do you know which type of items qualify for these deductions?
- Do you want to learn how to pay fewer taxes and keep more of your profits?
Announcing the Free teleseminar, ‘How to Minimize Your Taxes and Maximize Your Profits’!
Join Kristine on Friday October 26th at 12:00 CST to learn:
- The tax advantages of having an online business
- The most common tax deductions for online business owners
- How to qualify for the home office deduction
- How hiring your family can save on taxes,
- and much more!
Click here for more information and to sign up today!
Media Experts Collide??
Got ya?! Actually this past weekend, I got to meet one of my favorite people, PR Expert and Featured Speaker for the upcoming WAH Expo, Shannon Cherry of Be Heard Solutions.
She was speaking at a conference in DC and I headed over to meet her. I got a real treat because I met not only her but her hubby Matt, their twin girls and Shannon’s parents too! We had a wonderful time!
Taking Business Seriously
I take my business seriously. From the moment I decided to leave Corporate America and set up shop at home, I was bound and determined to keep everything very professional with a separate phone line, business attire, and regular hours in a real office. To me the only difference was the office would be attached to my home. I set up the extra bedroom with all the necessary equipment, you know - the fax machine, telephone, computer, printer, file cabinet, and playpen.
The first day I woke early, popped out of bed, put on the coffee, threw some quiche in the oven and took a quick shower. Then I dressed in my favorite suit, threw on the make-up and dashed back to the kitchen before the buzzer went off on the oven and woke my toddler. I walked into my office with high hopes that the ads I had placed would pay off and I would be flooded with in-coming calls. The phone sat dormant on the desk while I filed paperwork and straightened my desk a dozen times. I figured I could get a lot done before Kiersten woke up. That lasted until I dropped a paperweight on my foot and I let out a blood-curdling scream. So, I moved on to plan B. I hopped on one foot down the hall, retrieved the baby, did the mommy thing and rushed back to the office with her bouncing on my hip. I wasn’t concerned. After all, I had a reputation for being on top of things. I could handle anything. I put Kiersten in the playpen, loaded her down with toys and finally plunked down in the swivel chair to begin my day. That’s when the phone rang. I smiled as I snatched the phone up.
“Hello?”
“Tammy? This is Tom Hutchins. I saw your ad and…”
Ha! A potential client. This was going to be easier than I’d hoped. I leaned back in my chair and whoosh…back I flew, landing head first into the playpen. I had forgotten to put the rest of the bolts in the backrest. My head smacked hard into the frame. I yelped and Kiersten began to wale in fear.
“Is that a baby?” Tom asked as if he just took a big swig of dill pickle juice.
I lurched to my feet and ran, blood dripping out into the hall.
“A baby?” I said as I thought wildly for a plausible explanation for a wailing sound in a professional setting. “That…uh…oh no. Ummm.” Fake laugh here. “No, that’s just a police siren.” The phone went dead.
For the rest of the day I popped pacifiers or Cheerios into Kiersten’s mouth to keep her content while with the other hand I held an ice pack on my head and typed with my feet. I let the voice mail pick up the phone calls, all two of them. I figured I could call them back when she took a nap. Of course, she refused to lie down.
The next day I woke up, stumbled to the kitchen, micro-waved the left over coffee, gulped it down with 2 ibuprofen, ran a washcloth over my face and eased my black and blue butt into the office chair that was now bolted to the floor. While staring glassy eyed at the phone and willing it to ring, the dog chewed a hole in the mesh of the play pen to retrieve his chew toy that Kiersten was chewing and they both escaped to destroy what I had once called the living room.
The third day I woke up, marched into the kitchen, slammed some coffee down my throat and called a baby sitter to come and play with Kiersten and the dog while I went into my office and continued to stare at the phone. No one called.
The forth day I woke up, made instant coffee and threw the phone out the window.
I learned a few things that first week in business at home. First, I am not super-human. I get to call for help when I want or need it. Second, check your chair before sitting down. Third, only place Ads where your target market will see them.
Want to know more about telecommuting?
With the rising costs of gas and child care, it is no surprise that more and more people are looking for ways to work from home. But while interest in telecommuting is high, many people just don’t know how to get started. Are you one of those people? If so, there is an upcoming course that will be of great interest to you.
The four-week Telecommuting Boot Camp is a course designed by my friend Nell Taliercio, also known as the Telecommuting Answer Lady. Nell uses what she has learned through five years of telecommuting to teach you the fundamentals of entering the wonderful world of telecommuting. Participants will learn step-by-step how to determine whether or not telecommuting is right for them, find legitimate opportunities, and prepare to apply and interview for telecommuting positions. They will also learn how to propose telecommuting to a current manager.
By registering for this in-depth course, you’ll get more than just a weekly lesson. You will receive one-on-one assistance from Nell herself. You will have access to audio interviews pertaining to each week’s topic.
This comprehensive telecommuting course is only being offered to 15 people. Registration is now open, and I can tell you from experience that an opportunity like this doesn’t come along often. If you are ready to learn from one of the best and jumpstart your telecommuting career, visit the link below to sign up today!
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