As a business person, particularly an online business person, it is really important that you give your subscribers (followers, friends) every opportunity to get to know you, like you and trust you. I thought I would share some of my advice here.

Keep Your List Warm

Have you ever signed up to someones list and not heard from them in forever? Then, one day an email arrives in your inbox trying to sell you something – I would say that you had not only forgotten your signed up to that list, but also thought you were being ’spammed’.

The best way to make sure that this doesn’t happen to your prospects is to communicate with your list regularly. Keep them warm, so to speak, and remind them that they have subscribed to your mailings.

How regular, regular is, is up to you…. It can be once a day, once a week, once every two weeks or once a month. I strongly recommend that you don’t go longer than once a month in your mailings and once you choose your interval, stick to it.

Give – Of Yourself

People buy from people / businesses they know and trust. When you communiate with your list, tell them about yourself. It doesn’t have to be deeply personal, but it needs to include something of yourself.

In every email you send, let your subscribers know that you are a real person.

Give Value

The one thing that annoys me is when I open an email all I get is a ’sales message’. I find it really difficult to make a decision on buying something, when I don’t get a feel for the type of value that I will receive by making the purchase.

I am more likely to make a buying decision, when I get enough information.

When you send your emails out to your list, think about what value you are providing before you ask your readers to buy something.

Keep these points in mind when communicating with your list and you’ll develop a highly responsive email list – that likes to do business with you.

About The Author

Charly Leetham - Wordpress Optimization Expert & Small Business Coach

Charly Leetham is an online business implemenation expert who helps solopreneurs and small business get their business and online presence in order. She has many aspects of my business, including small business coaching.

Charly approaches web services work from a holistic point of view and her mission is to help people map their online presence to their business processes, ensuring that the website is an enabler and supporting the business rather than determining the direction of the business.

Stressed About Your Web Presence, Relax! You’re In Good Hand – Ask Charly Leetham

Passwords – RoboForm

I have so many passwords to remember, as I’m sure do many others. The one tool that I wouldn’t be without is RoboForm, particularly RoboForm2Go.

This little application will store your passwords in passcards on your computer, or your usb data stick. I personally use RoboForm2Go on my usb data key, so I can take my passwords where ever I go.

You can organize your passcards into logical groupings too. I have Affiliate Networks, Social Networks, Banking etc as some of my groups.

Better yet – the passcards also act as bookmarks – so if you’re like me and forget the web address, all you need to do is click on the RoboForm passcard and you’ll be taken straight to the website. (No more worrying about my browser bookmarks!).

RoboForm also allows you to credit PROFILES – and use those profiles to autocomplete forms. Fantastic function when signing up to Social Networks and the like. The other day, I used that exact function and save myself hours!

Download free copy of RoboForm here (this link will automatically launch the download of Roboform) and you’ll get 10 Passcards. Or you can purchase a licence for unlimited RoboForm Passcards.

DownThemAll For Firefox

I LOVE this plugin! If you use Firefox, it really is a must. This neat little plugin, or addon, will allow you to download all items on a page with literally one click of the mouse.

This is really helpful when you purchase a digitally delivered course or product and there are heaps of files that make it up.

I use this regularly, and will often just start the download process and move on to other tasks. The download process is quicker too, because of the way DTA! breaks the downloads into smaller chunks and ‘knits’ them back together.

Find out about DownThemAll here.

Download Manager for Internet Explorer

I don’t use IE unless I’m testing site compatibilities, so my recommendations are very limited.

However, I have previously found Free Download Manager (FDM) a useful tool that hooks into Internet Explorer. Operating in much the same way a DownThemAll, FDM is a good alternative if you don’t use Firefox.

GoodSync – File Synchronization and more

GoodSync is a file backup and file synchronization application which can automatically analyze, synchronize and back up your files locally – between desktops, laptops, servers, external drives, and Windows Mobile devices, as well as remotely through FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, and more.

Now I use GoodSync to synchronize my RoboForm Passcards between my two data sticks (one is a backup of the other) and my Dad uses GoodSync to backup his company data from their server to a backup server, every night.

GoodSync just runs in the background and makes sure your files are backed up.

You can download a trial copy of GoodSync simply by clicking here (the download will start straight away) or you can find out more about GoodSync here.

Why not share some of your fave tools to help improve your online experience?

About The Author

Charly Leetham - Wordpress Optimization Expert & Small Business Coach

Charly Leetham is an online business implemenation expert who helps solopreneurs and small business get their business and online presence in order. She has many aspects of my business, including small business coaching.

Charly approaches web services work from a holistic point of view and her mission is to help people map their online presence to their business processes, ensuring that the website is an enabler and supporting the business rather than determining the direction of the business.

Stressed About Your Web Presence, Relax! You’re In Good Hand With Online Implementation Expert – Ask Charly Leetham

These moments are directly related to our Self Confidence – our belief in our own abilities. Interestingly, though, a lack of Self Confidence doesn’t necessarily occur in all aspects of our lives. It often just occurs in one small segment. I see it when I speak to Women about their businesses – they often don’t feel that they have the necessary skills to achieve success however, this lack could also be in the area of parenting, or sports or anywhere.

A lot of the issues seem to occur from our belief that we aren’t experts, or expert enough in our fields. Women tend to compare themselves to others around them and make a judgment of their worthiness based on the accomplishments of others.

A great example of this can be seen in an exercise class, like Yoga. Many women turn up to their very first Yoga class and immediately apologize to the Instructor for not knowing what to do, or not being able to do each exercise. Logically, we know that we shouldn’t have to know what to do, that in fact it is expected that we won’t know what to do – but that doesn’t stop us assessing ourselves against a ’standard’ and finding ourselves lacking.

It doesn’t have to be this way, and you can start to boost your self confidence by applying the next 4 tips:

Stop The Negative Self Talk – we all talk to ourselves. Often, we talk to ourselves and tell ourselves how unworthy we are – I know I do. We need to ‘catch’ ourselves doing that and change the self talk to be positive. One great suggestion is to place a band around your wrist, like a rubber band or a friendship band – and when you start talking to yourself using negatives, simply flick the band, reset the mind program and use positive messages. For example, if you find yourself saying – “Oh I’m not good enough to apply for that”, flick the band and say “I’m well qualified to do that…”

Learn To Say ‘No’ and just ‘No’ – It is really hard for a woman to say ‘No!’. Generally we want to help everyone and will say ‘Yes’ even when we know that we can’t possibly fit the work into our schedule. Even when we do start to say ‘No’, we find we have to explain why we are saying ‘No’. It’s o.k to say ‘No’ and we don’t have to explain why. Learn to say ‘No’ and just ‘No’.

Accept That We Are Experts – we need to accept that we are expert in our chosen field and stop being so hard on ourselves. There will always be others who know more than us, just as we will know more than others. Accept that you are an expert and be kind on yourself when you set your goals.

Start Acting Like The Person You Want To Be – break the pattern today and start acting like the person you want to be. Smile and take joy in life and you will soon become that person.

I had the privilege of speaking with Kate Sanner from Boost Your Self Confidence in 90 Days on the Stretch Your Mind And Body talk show this week and she shared some very interesting insights into how low self confidence can occur. Kate spoke mainly about Women and Self Confidence in Business however, her messages can be applied to every part of our lives. Listen to the show:

This teleseminar will offer valuable information to help you push past your self-imposed limits and learn the secrets to identifying and breaking your blocks to self-confidence. You’ll also have the opportunity to learn all about Kate’s upcoming “Boost Your Self-Confidence in 90 Days Training Program.”

About The Author

Charly Leetham - Wordpress Optimization Expert & Small Business Coach

Charly Leetham is an online business implemenation expert who helps solopreneurs and small business get their business and online presence in order. She has many aspects of my business, including small business coaching.

Charly approaches web services work from a holistic point of view and her mission is to help people map their online presence to their business processes, ensuring that the website is an enabler and supporting the business rather than determining the direction of the business.

Stressed About Your Web Presence, Relax! You’re In Good Hand – Ask Charly Leetham

As someone who has built a solid Email Marketing database (and experienced some interesting situations along the way) and also consults with Small Businesses to develop and implement an Email Marketing campaign, I find this practice to be counter-productive and a possible breach of the CAN-Spam laws.

A possible breach of the CAN-Spam laws? Yes – I am, in effect, being sent unsolicited commercial email – marketing material – from these contacts. I haven’t provided express permission to receive these updates, and they are far from personal levels of contact – some of the updates are incredibly professional newsletters and marketing updates.

Could I argue then, to an ISP or autoresponder provider that these updates are being sent to me without my permission? Yes. Would the ISP and autoresponder provider take action – maybe, if they received enough complaints over a period of time.

Am I going to complain? No, I won’t. I’ll see if I can unsubscribe from the updates and if I can’t and I really object to the material I’m being sent, I’ll disconnect from that contact. Ultimately, I use a separate email address for these connections and deleting email is relatively easy. (This is what I mean about counter-productive for the contact sending the message).

Permission Based Email Marketing

Permission Based Email Marketing, is about gaining the recipients permission to send them information of a commercial nature. Pure and Simple – if you haven’t received their permission, don’t send the material.

The question that is raised, is does connecting on a business or social network like Linked In, imply permission to receive commercial and marketing updates? Does it imply permission to be added to an autoresponder service to receive those updates?

I think not. I believe that by connecting, we are allowing ourselves to explore how we can work together, if at all. It also allows us to expand our contact base and make introductions, if the fit is good…. It’s about networking first, business and sales later.

I get the fact that one way to get to KNOW about your new contact is to receive their email updates – but I would prefer to make that determination myself. I would like to assess what my new contact is really doing and whether their information is relevant to me and will add to my business or personal development.

Even adding people from offline events in this manner should be considered in the same light. When you received their contact details, did you ask them if they wished to receive your updates – or have you just assumed that they would be interested and sent them updates anyway?

Business Reputation

What does this mean for your business repuation, or reputation in general?

I am happy to provide referrals for people, when I believe they have integrity – I’m not likely to refer one of my contacts through to someone that just assumes they add a contact to a mailing list, on the strength of the contact being made.

Think about what your current networking practices are saying about you – and consider how the recipients of your updates feel, when the updates are literally forced upon them and they have to opt-out of receiving them.

Read my next article for practical strategies about connecting on a social or professional network and adding people to your email marketing list.

About The Author

Charly Leetham - Wordpress Optimization Expert & Small Business Coach

Charly Leetham is an online business implemenation expert who helps solopreneurs and small business get their business and online presence in order. She has many aspects of my business, including small business coaching.

Charly approaches web services work from a holistic point of view and her mission is to help people map their online presence to their business processes, ensuring that the website is an enabler and supporting the business rather than determining the direction of the business.

Stressed About Your Web Presence, Relax! You’re In Good Hand – Ask Charly Leetham

(Networking perspective based on experience and observation by relationship builder, Jason Jacobsohn)

Part of the fun of networking is that you never know who you are going to meet and where that relationship will take you.  Each person has a unique background and something interesting to offer. Also, each person comes with his/her network so you never know who you can meet through an introduction.

At the same time, if you want to take your networking to the next level, you sometimes have to put the pieces together. For example, if you are interested in landing XYX company as a new client but don’t know anyone to contact, then you should try to leverage your network to find the right contact. A warm introduction is usually better than a cold call.

So, how do find the person you want to talk to? Below are a few tips:

• Search LinkedIn for a person or company and ask for an introduction from someone in your network
• Search your own contact database for people at the firm you are targeting
• Seek out events in which your target person will be speaking
• Search online for this person and reach out directly
• Ask people in your network if they know this person and then request an introduction

Be aware that it can take time to get in front of your target person. It can take several attempts or introductions to finally get in front of the right person. It can be fun to follow the path that your network has taken you until you reach this person.

Do you have any stories to share about how your network helped you reach someone?

If you like this blog post, then subscribe via email or RSS feed

I would love to hear your comments – please feel free to post them in the Comments Section.  Posting to your FaceBook wall or sending a Tweet would be greatly appreciated!

Discover The Value Of Personal Training

by Mickey Glick

Many people still think of personal training as an ongoing extravagance for celebrities and high powered CEO’s. However, there are very few individuals who could not benefit from at least a few sessions with a professional, and more and more people are realizing the value of such an investment.

If you’re a novice exerciser, it’s obvious why it would make sense to hire a personal trainer. Getting set up on the right program and learning proper technique will lower your risk of injury and help you get better results.

Experienced individuals can benefit by revising their current workout routine. Our bodies adapt to doing the same movements over and over, so changing your program can help you break through plateaus, keep you motivated and prevent boredom. For those who created their own strength training program from books, magazines, the internet or videos, a personal trainer can insure that the exercises are being performed correctly, in the proper order, and that all the major muscles are being worked. Exercising some muscles while neglecting others can result in imbalances and injury.

Busy professionals can utilize regular personal training sessions to help them maximize the efficiency of their limited time. Working with a trainer allows you to concentrate solely on the execution of each movement rather than setting up equipment, adjusting seats, recording information, etc. giving you more time to spend working out. You also have someone monitoring your technique and encouraging you to push yourself a little harder- both especially important if you’re regularly crunched for time.

If you’re interested in starting an exercise program, want to update your current regime or need some motivation or accountability, a certified personal trainer can help you safely get the most benefit from your time and effort.

Mickey Glick is the owner of Body & Soul Fitness Studio, an all-women fitness center in Lancaster, PA. She has worked in the fitness industry since 1995 and is a certified personal trainer.

Body & Soul offers both strength and cardiovascular training equipment in a comfortable, supportive environment. Due to the emphasis on health and well-being rather than body image, members include women of all ages, shapes, sizes and exercise experience levels. Each new member is designed a workout program based on her individual goals, current fitness level, schedule, experience, and physical limitations.

Visit Body & Soul’s website at http://www.bsfstudio.com and Mickey’s “No Pink Dumbbells” blog at http://www.nopinkdumbbells.blogspot.com

Your comments are welcome – please post them below!

10 Reasons to Use a Qualified Promotional Products Distributor!

A professional and experienced promotional products distributor will help answer your questions – even those you might not think of or didn’t know you needed to ask.  He/she will be able to help you design a program to get results and save you time and money in the process.

Reason #1:  Good distributors go beyond just selling products.

Successful promotion campaigns don’t happen by chance.  To realize goals, promotional products programs must be carefully planned, taking into consideration the audience, budget and, of course, the ultimate result to be gained.  While it’s true that you can buy a product anywhere, an experienced distributor can help you solve problems, plan a program and get results.

Reason #2:  Professional distributors have access to vast product research resources,   including an extensive database which contains more than 600,000 products.

Yes, you can find a mug online, but a distributor can find hundreds of mugs, in a multitude of colors, sizes and shapes, materials, designs, etc.  Have you saved money if you get the mugs and they are not the right color?  Is it worth the extra savings if you get the mugs and they are so breakable due to inferior materials that they are virtually unusable?

Reason #3:  Distributors are in time with the trends including hot items and the newest products and processes.

A qualified distributor can add creativity, innovation and imagination to your overall program to achieve your goals.  They can also help you in creating the desired mood.  Many online services show you the products they want to sell or push close-outs.  The qualified distributor will listen to what you want and help you find the right product for your needs.  And a distributor can provide tangible samples that appeal to your senses, taste, touch and feel.

Reason #4:  Your distributor is more than just a salesperson.

Chances are you will buy promotional products more than once in your life.  Once a company uses a distributor, that relationship often continues for years – and even decades.  Your promotional products distributor is someone with whom you have worked, someone you know and someone you trust.  In many cases, companies use the distributor as part of the creative team, even including him/her in marketing meetings.

Reason #5:  Personalized service is the role of the distributor.

When going online, your selections are what the Internet company determines to make available.  When you work with a distributor, your selection is determined by your needs and goals, enhanced by the experience, creativity and recommendations of that distributor who has your best interest at heart.  Online or by mail, you’re a faceless, nameless buyer.  With a distributor, you’re a client with your own personal shopper, receiving service along with ideas and prices. Order online . . . who is monitoring your order and deadline? Who is going to immediately handle any mistake or a defect.  Your distributor has your best interest in mind.  Seldom do you receive that kind of “hand holding” customer service from an unknown online company.

Reason #6:  Industry distributors can offer experienced advice on how (and if) to imprint items.

OK, you found the perfect key chain or pen, but will your logo imprint on it?  Will it be recognizable?  Some things don’t work or there might be something else that would work better.  A qualified promotional products distributor can explain to you the best printing process for your program, your imprint and the product you’ve chosen.

Reason #7:  Trained distributors can save you money in the long run.

Many times, a price you see in a generic catalog or on the Internet does not cover many “hidden” costs involved – set-up, imprint duplication, color match, shipping, etc.  The distributor can help you avoid unexpected and unbudgeted costs by quoting the total price up-front.

Reason #8:  Distributors will work with you to get your artwork imprinted properly.

Say you want your company’s logo embroidered on golf shirts.  How do you insure it will be done properly, and with the correct colors?  A trained distributor can work with you to insure accurate transfer of your artwork, including correct fonts, size, spacing, location, and many other important factors.  Also, he/she will explain the type of fabric on which your logo will look best, if we are talking apparel.  And the distributor’s commitment to quality customer service will guarantee your satisfaction with the finished product.

Reason #9:  Professional promotional products distributors can assist you in developing a workable distribution plan for your products.

Distribution of promotional products is as important as the item itself.  Research shows that a carefully executed plan significantly increases the effectiveness of promotional products.  But what if the cost of distributing your product is more than the product and more than your expected ROI (return on investment)?  A distributor can help you avoid unexpected problems like this. The distributor can also help get products to the desired “target” clients.

Reason #10:  Distributors are the experts in their field.

When you’re sick, you want a doctor who has the specialization and training to help you.  Many distributors meet the highest standards in the industry and display “The Mark of a Professional.”  The MAS (Master Advertising Specialist) or CAS (Certified Advertising Specialist) designation after a  distributor’s name means he or she has earned the industry’s only official certification.  There is no need to spend your time on the Internet or searching through catalogs.  Your promotional products distributor will come to you – like a doctor who makes house calls!

For more information:  Call:  Mike Donnelly, Pennsylvania Promotions, Inc.

Cell:  717-314-0010

picamike@verizon.net

mdonnelly@papromo.com

Tweet to Market to Locals

The Twitter social networking and micro-blogging service launched just over two years ago, has rocketed in usage numbers quickly, and recently turned red hot. There are four million connections between twitter users. It seems that a vast number of people are trying twitter but not many really know how to use it, as a matter of fact, yours truly is just beginning to learn herself.

However Celebrities have been quick to espouse twitter even having battles to see who can get more followers as in Ellen De Generes and Ashton Kutcher. There are articles and websites abounding on Twitter celebrites and twitter businesses. Other celebrities using Twitter: Britney Spears – With the launch of her new album, Ms. Spears is embracing the Internet with a redesigned website and the launch of a Twitter account. MC Hammer – Musician, pastor, rising Internet celeb – it seems MC Hammer pops up everywhere.

Twitter is going the way of Face Book and LinkedIn, from a casual optin espoused by the younger generation, it has become a “must do” for business owners. For the newbies out there here’s a quote from the blog 10,000 words which is all about journalism:
“Twitter is transforming from gimmicky messaging tool to marketing powerhouse.” — Caroline McCarthy, WebWare

Ever since Barak Obama used Twitter so successfully to update his in person appearances and other info, Twitter has taken off. You might say Twittr is the the social media this president didn’t invent but at least popularized. Someone has actually called twitter the telegraph system of Web 2.0.

Many companies are rapidly cluing into the promotional value, but smaller businesses appear slow to hop on the bandwagon.
Follow me at: @monmornmarketer

Here are a few tips on leveraging Twitter to help your locally-oriented business.

Not completing a bio

The cardinal sin of most new Twitter users is not filling out the small but important section that says a bit about who they are. It could be a simple as a name (or a clever alias for the secret agents or painfully shy) or even just a sentence or two. If your goal is to get the conversation going — which is the point of Twitter after all — a bio can be the icebreaker.
You can also create a catchy, creative one line bio about yourself, please do! Remember twitter is social networking in miniature.

Protecting updates, but complaining about no followers

There are a few reasons to keep your updates private: not wanting to share your personal business with the world, thwarting spammers, etc. But many twitterers forget that by blocking updates from public view, they are also blocking potential followers. It’s a give and take situation, so you gotta give a little to get something back.

Learning to use twitter effectively can definitely help you keep in touch with clients, prospects, suspects and others who can definitely grow your business.

Here’s the sort of thing you’d love to see: a customer happens by your store and is fascinated with something there, and “tweets” a pic of it out to all his Twitter followers:
Even better, if they endorse the business to their followers, this becomes an online species of word-of-mouth-marketing. So, how do you encourage this to happen?
Believe it or not, many internet savvy folks use twitter like they use the yellow pages. They may tweet about looking for Pittsburgh restaurant that has Middle Eastern Food or great fried chicken. How do you find these people and answer them, check out Twitter Search. http://search.twitter.com/ This morning I checked in on Pittsburgh Marketing and found 15 posts, I did not find anyone looking for a marketing company but I was able to find 15 posts and monitor what some of my competitors are doing.

Be careful of spamming, it’s a challenge with e-mail and twitter might catch you also. You don’t want to lose your account because you answered a specific question by spamming with information about your business that simply was not applicable.

Here are some tips to using Twitter for Local Marketing•

I list my on line radio show topics each week with a link of course, if you are an entertainment venue or non-profit, you can list that weeks events, meetings, free webinars, be creative.

The benefits of following others and having them follow you is cross marketing, your tweets appear on their page and theirs on yours, So collaborate with some non-competitive businesses on your tweeting.

If you have a local blog, tweet each time you post to promote your blog. Be sure to use a shortened URL in the tweet! You can find these at: Tiny URL

Tweet out pics of special stuff going on with your store— things like new product teasers, celebs who visit your store, other interesting aspects of stuff your company does like charitable fundraisers.

If business is slow that day, how about tweeting out an instant coupon with an eight hour deadline or “ today only!”

How about Tweet coupons that encourage tweet users to retweet your coupons or information.

Once you’ve built up sufficient numbers of followers, use Twitter to perform quick polls about what products, features, services your customers would prefer. Cheap, fast input from your client base!

Don’t just follow these tips, check out the tweeters that have thousands of followers and swipe and deploy what they are using, once an idea is out there unless it is copyrighted or trademarked it’s pretty much public domain, just please do not plagiarize, use the idea and make it your own.

Please do use the Twitter Directory

• Tweeter Directory
• Twitter Tools
• Twitter Mobile
• Wikis & Blogs
• Cool Stuff
• Twitter Bots
• Search Twitter
• Statistics & Tracking
• Twitter for Business
• Twitter Services
• Twitter Graphics
• Twitter Sharing
• Twitter Groups
• Twitter News
• Twitter Fame

This blog post can be reproduced in its entirety with the following information:
© Joanne Quinn-Smith 2009, Monday Morning Marketeer™ 412-628-5048
Listen at: http://tinyurl.com/MondayMorningMarketeer
Blog: www.marketingmondaymorning.blogspot.com
Or on its unique radio channel at:
www.positivelypittsburghlivemgazine.com
Joanne Quinn-Smith is the Creative Energy Officer of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and an expert on Web 2.0 Branding.
Joanne has also been designated by the 2009 U.S. Small Business Administration as the Small Business Journalist of the Year for her work with information relevant to small business.
Follow at: https://twitter.com/monmornmarketer

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/joannequinnsmith

The audio radio talkcast of this show can be heard on Monday Morning Marketeer unique radio channel at http://positivelypittsburghlivemagazine.com, date of show 5-11-09

I’m asking this question not as a networking coach, but as someone who was trying to connect with people within her ‘field’.  I have over 5000 LinkedIn contacts – pretty impressive really – and I decided that I wanted to connect with those contacts who would most appreciate my services.

Following my own advice, I started searching my LinkedIn contacts for people who ‘fit my profile’… I was amazed at the descriptions people targeted themselves with. I think the saddest was ‘Looking for a job’ and the most pitiful ‘over 20K plus connections’.

So here’s my question based on this experience – WHY are you on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook — to name a few?

Sure, it might be to find a job…. but is it really to brag how many connections you have?

Let’s look at my example.  I wanted to connect with my Target Audience and let them know about something I’m doing that may be of interest to them. Really, in the whole scheme of things, I’m going to look at their two or three line bio and make a decision as to whether they are the right connection for me.  Do I really care whether they have 10,000 or so connections?  Nope – absolutely not and I think that 70% of their other contacts don’t care either.

Twitter’s not much better either.  I had 1693 followers, and I was following slightly less than that.  I was following nearly 2000 people.  After rationalizing the people I was following, I have found that I’m actually having conversations with people (albeit conversations in 140 characters or less) and my followers are increasing more uniformly.

So…  what’s the point?  Does it matter if you have 20K + connections – or is it more important that you have 5000 connections who are not just good for business, but improve exponentially?

The ‘connections’ race (as I’m going to term it) is just diluting the good that ‘true’ networking can do.  So here’s my advice to you:

When setting up your profile on a social networking site – think about the type of connection you want to make.  Really! Think about your Target Audience and their buying profile – think about the potential partners that exist and how you can help them.  Then, and only then, start drafting your social network profile.

Share your experiences – what have you found by tweaking your profile – or not…..

About The Author

Charly Leetham - Wordpress Optimization Expert & Small Business Coach

Charly Leetham helps solopreneurs and small business get their business and online presence in order. She has many aspects of my business, including small business coaching.

Charly approaches web services work from a holistic point of view and her mission is to help people map their online presence to their business processes, ensuring that the website is an enabler and supporting the business rather than determining the direction of the business.

Stressed About Your Web Presence, Relax! You’re In Good Hands – Ask Charly Leetham

Click on this URL to take action now
http://capwiz.com/naifa/utr/2/?a=13507271&i=88333272&c=

For help understanding your benefits program at work, or to request a quote for individual health insurance, contact Barbara Hostetler at Hostetler Insurance Associates, Inc. at (717) 293-7100 or brh@hostetlerinsurance.com.

This is a challenge that employers face at least once every year as they receive a renewal on their health plan that includes a premium increase, often in the range of 15 – 20%.  The benefits plan that you have at work is extremely expensive, and many employees are unaware of exactly how expensive it is.  Employers who raise deductibles or copayments and/or raise the cost of the insurance plan that they pass onto employees often do so out of necessity, but employees may not understand where such decisions come from, and some feel that their employer does not care about them, or that they are just passing-on the cost of a benefit that was offered to them as part of their employment contract, thus “cutting” their pay.

Here are some facts about group health insurance that you might not know:

1. The average cost of single employee coverage among small groups in my practice is >$300 per month or >$3,600 per year.  With a 15% premium increase, that will go up to >$4,140 per year at renewal.
2. The average cost of family coverage among small groups in my practice is >$1,000 per month or >$12,000 per year.  With a 15% premium increase, that will go up to >$13,800 per year at renewal.
3. Most of the plans that I work with still offer low copayments for office visits and prescriptions, but are considering a move to qualified high deductible plans that would exclude those benefits.
4. Utilization is the largest single factor in the rising cost of health care – utilization is simply the cost associated with using your health plan on a day-to-day basis.
5. You can have a positive impact on rising health insurance costs by using your plan wisely, and reducing utilization will help to reduce future health insurance renewal premium increases.

The news is full of President Obama’s plans for changing healthcare in our country, and the best ways to accomplish that will be debated endlessly over the next couple of years.  If we get back to basics, though, and look at our health insurance as a means to prevent financial ruin in the event of a large claim, instead of a way to give us access to a doctor on every whim, it would go a long way to fix our current healthcare system, without overhauling it completely.  Use your benefits wisely to help ensure that they will remain available to you in the future.

For help understanding your benefits program at work, or to request a quote for individual health insurance, contact Barbara Hostetler at Hostetler Insurance Associates, Inc. at 717 293-7100 or brh@hostetlerinsurance.com.

Larissa Zimmerman - National Financial Fitness

Do you really know the connection between a healthy, mind body and wallet? Larissa Zimmerman from National Financial Fitness does and she shares that with Connie and Charly from Stretch Your Mind And Body on their weekly talk show.

Larissa provides financial education for individuals and businesses – to help them gain control of their life. Larissa promotes, and lives, the concept that when you get your mindset right around your financial situation, your health and wealth follows.

Larissa often receives referrals from Financial Planners – because some people who are seeking financial advise aren’t prepared – and don’t know how to prepare. Larissa provides the basic (and not so basic) financial management skills.

The main reason that Financial Planners send clients to Larissa is because those client don’t know where they are financially, how much they really have coming in the door, how much they spend, what loans they have etc.

Through her training, Larissa is able to help her clients become very clear about their financial position, so that the Financial Planners can help further.

One tool that is used in this training, are ’scenario sheets’, that track what you think you’re earning and spending and give a lot of clarity. As a special offer for our listeners, Larissa offered anyone who emails her from National Financial Fitness and mention they were listening to the call and she will send you the Scenario Sheets (and some info on how to use them).

The question is, what do you – as a small business person – need to know to manage your business? In fact, as an individual, are you managing your personal finances? If you aren’t managing your personal finances, managing your business finances is even more challenging.

Larissa discussed in depth, budgeting – and its importance to the household. In fact, Larissa shared the story of one of her clients – who through setting up a budget, getting her mindset in place and focusing on the positive / enjoyable free activities she could do – went from living on next to nothing to purchasing a positive cash flow investment property in 12 to 18 months.

The point is – that as business owners, we need to have a level of financial education so that we can manage our businesses properly.

So tell me – what are you doing to understand the financial management aspects of your business?

About The Author

Charly Leetham - Wordpress Optimization Expert & Small Business Coach

Charly Leetham helps solopreneurs and small business get their business and online presence in order. She has many aspects of my business, including small business coaching.

Charly approaches web services work from a holistic point of view and her mission is to help people map their online presence to their business processes, ensuring that the website is an enabler and supporting the business rather than determining the direction of the business.

Stressed About Your Web Presence, Relax! You’re In Good Hands – Ask Charly Leetham

I remember hearing once that you should be the ‘general of your army’ and not a soldier (I think it was Mark Hendricks from Internet Success Systems that said that).

I love the phrase and it’s something that I ask myself all the time – am I directing my business, looking strategically and planning (being the General) or am I stuck in the weeds and busy delivering the strategy (being a solider)?

All too often, Small Business owners become the soldiers in their business, and stop acting like the general.

It is very easy for a business person to become so ‘bogged down’ with doing everything for their business, that they lose focus on ensuring that they do the important things that will ensure success.

The main effect of getting bogged down in your business, is that you rarely get anything done WELL.  Sure, you will  get things done – but I’ll guarantee that you are so ’strung out’ that you  just do whatever we can to finish the job.

How often do you review the activities you are undertaking in your business and ensure that you are in fact the General, and not a soldier?

Have you even sat down and worked out the activities that you, as the strategy maker for your business, SHOULD be doing? Have you worked out what you like doing in relation to your business?

If you haven’t worked out what you should be doing and what you like doing – sit down now with a clean piece of paper and start writing.  Create your lists and then use those lists for your planning.

Ask yourself if you need to be doing anyone of the following or whether someone else can do it:

• Copy writing for Advertising
• Article writing,
• Website or blog development
• Book keeping
• Rostering
• Invoicing
• Scheduling
• Ordering

Depending on the business you’re in – this list will differ but the list above should get you going.

The next question to ask is – Is this really a good and solid use of my time – particularly for the tasks that you like to do?

I know there is a cost associated with getting others to help – but you really have to ask yourself – what is your time worth?

If you spend 7 hours working on your website (because you like doing it) but an expert could do the work in 1 hour – aren’t you better off taking that assistance? Think about where you can be focusing your efforts for that 7 hours!

You may need to make some tough decisions for your business to be successful but it’s worth it in the long run.

If you are a member of a networking group like Referrals Unlimited Network, you have the ‘inside scoop’ on service providers who can help you run your business more effectively (and efficiently).  Make the most of these connections.

So tell me – are you a General in Your Army? Or are you a solider?  Share your experiences with others below.

About The Author

Charly Leetham - Wordpress Optimization Expert & Small Business Coach

Charly Leetham helps solopreneurs and small business get their business and online presence in order.   She has many aspects of my business, including small business coaching.

Charly approaches web services work from a holistic point of view and her mission is to help people map their online presence to their business processes, ensuring that the website is an enabler and supporting the business rather than determining the direction of the business.

Stressed About Your Web Presence, Relazx! You’re In Good Hands – Ask Charly Leetham