I’ve never considered myself a ‘pack-rat’ but I must admit I have a challenge with throwing things away – ‘just in case I’m going to need it.’ We are shaped, in part, by our childhood and I often wonder if I hold on to things because of my mother’s painful experience when I was a child. I grew up hearing about the unfortunate day she cleaned out drawers and destroyed some very important documents that were irreplaceable and were closely tied in to her family history. That may have created my reluctance to throw out papers.

Are you a hoarder or is your philosophy like my husband’s, “If you haven’t used it in six months, you don’t need it?”  What does this have to do with our business?  A lot!

What is your work environment like?  Is it cluttered? Even if there is a resemblance of order, are you surrounded by outdated and irrelevant materials that take up space but have no real value?   As I look at the shelves in my home office they are weighed down with three-ring binders of different sizes and colors, neatly arranged but packed with lots of files. I’ve finally come to grips with the reality that I need to go through those binders and get rid of files that are no longer relevant.  I have to make office decluttering a goal!

When I started my online business at the end of 2008 I basically stopped buying shoes and started buying programs, packages, and training manuals  of all kinds that I hoped would guide me on the path to  success with my online business.  I printed everything!

Unfortunately, with the passage of time and changes in technology, etc. some of these are no longer relevant. For example, there is a binder filled with an entire training series – free and paid – on Facebook.  Facebook has undergone so many changes in just the past year alone that there is very little value in those files anymore.  There are other binders that contain information I can refer to that can help with research, but will I ever take the time to do so?

In addition, before starting my online journey, I had offline businesses, and there again are several binders with information on prospects and customers, training materials, etc. Those will be on their way out!

Of course, my shelves are also filled with valuable eBooks and training like Dennis Becker’s $5 Bucks a Day Report, Willie Crawford’s 20 Ways to Make $100 and Denise Wakeman’s Online Visibility Secrets.

My paperback collection of business books include Connie Ragen Green’s Huge Profits With Affiliate Marketing, Michele Scism’s Makeover Your Business in 6 Weeks or Less and Bob Jenkins’ Take Action Revise Later among many others.

This decluttering project is one of my projects for the first quarter of this year. How about you?  What is your working environment like?  If you work from home, does it motivate you to produce your best or does it sap you of your energy.  Make decluttering a goal rather than  a ‘New Year’s resolution!’ Set a goal with a completion date. You will be glad you did.

Is decluttering a challenge for you? If not, what suggestions do you have to keep this recurring? Please share your experiences with us and leave your comments below.  We can support each other

“Success is just around the next corner…

You may have heard that statement many times, and if you’re a new online business owner you may have doubts about ever seeing that success because there seems to be so much to do.  And yes, it can be confusing and daunting unless you have someone to guide you.

I remember when I first started online, in one of the first classes I took we were told we could model the trainer’s optin page, which was great as it would have reduced a lot of planning and designing.  However, I had no idea how to get that site from my computer to the Internet.  I’d never heard of FTP and wouldn’t have known what to do with it. Have you faced any situation like that in your business to date?

It’s important to believe that you can experience success in your online business.  Adopting the following five “attitudes” for success can play a significant role in  finding your success around the corner regardless of how deep the corner is:

Have a Positive Attitude:  It’s important to cultivate a positive attitude in how you approach your online business and in your life in general.  ‘Cultivate’ means that this attitude may not come naturally; you may have to work very hard to achieve it.  You may have to change your mindset and learn positive thinking, then nourish it as it grows.

Develop a Business Mentality:  While there are some internet marketers who had successful offline business and are now transferring those skills (more…)

Do you ever feel like the hamster? Your business isn’t growing at the pace you’d like and you seem to be just spinning your wheels?  I’ve felt that way from time to time.  In order to take your business to the next level, there are five areas of focus you should not neglect.

1.  Content: This is the only way people will get to know what you do and what you have to offer.  Your blog should be your home for your content, and should allow you readers to get to know you through informative topics where you share your knowledge.

2.  Traffic:  Traffic or readers are essential to our business.  We want to invite and encourage visitors to our website to read and comment on our posts.  At the same time we want to return the compliment by commenting on the blogs of fellow bloggers.

In the interest of growing our knowledge a strategy that was recommended to me quite some time ago, and which I’ve found beneficial is to take time to (more…)

In order to successfully move forward in your goals for your business, you have to stay in constant learning mode. You can never stop learning.  This does not mean that you have to go back to school and take formal courses, but you can seek ways to increase your knowledge and take steps to sharpen your skills on a regular basis.

• Make use of your waiting time:  Always have material with you so that you make good use of time you spend waiting – for meetings to start, for a doctor’s appointment, at the beauty salon, at the barber’s, to pick up your children from school, waiting at the airport, to name a few.

• Turn travel time into productive time:  Use your car as your mobile university.  This is one of the reasons I don’t mind traveling long distances alone.  I can listen to whatever I want freely without having to be concerned about imposing on other persons in the car.  I keep CDs with motivational and (more…)

The headline reads, “Smiles Can Ease Stress at the Office.” The article was written by syndicated columnist, Michelle Singletary, and in it she mentioned the number of businesses that were laying off staff and closing locations leaving those employees who kept their jobs to shoulder more responsibility.  She noted that this added more stress to the employees who remained.

In the article Michelle also reviewed a book that focused on the the need for levity in the workplace. The book highlighted the need for employers to create a fun and light atmosphere on the job and incorporate these in emails, memos, voice mails, meetings, and training sessions.

As I read the article I thought of how this article could be applied to entrepreneurs and small business owners. Do you work from home full-time? Are you alone in your home office day after day? Do you take time to smile or even laugh? If you are a small business owner with a brick and mortar store, like a boutique, do you find ways to inject humor into your interactions with your clients and prospects?

There are many types of small businesses where there is a lot of interaction with the public. For example, hair salons, spas, auto supply stores, hardware stores, fabric stores, etc. Because of this interaction there is no shortage of communication and opportunities to inject humor into your day; but taking or making opportunities to smile or laugh when you’re alone may not be something many of us think (more…)

I love sales!!! Did I always feel that way? I’m not sure, but it seemed to fit my entrepreneurial spirit, which started as a little bud in my early 20’s and blossomed later on.

I continue to hear people speak of sales in a negative way and many online marketers literally cringe at the mention of sales. I’ve seen the comment where someone said she started her online business so she would not have to go into sales. Hmmm…

As an online marketer, are you in sales? If you say no, because you do not sell a product, then the question begs to be asked: What is you business? To experience success online (more…)

There are many tools available to internet users, and Adsense can be a powerful tool to increase revenue, if it is done properly. I recently read where one marketer said that ‘Adsense is for lazy people.’ Nothing could be farther from the truth! Work is involved in setting up these sites. Your site must have good content, your title and content must be keyword rich, and you must position your ads correctly.

1.  Good Content : There is a plethora of information available on the internet and people have no time or need to read useless information. If you want to keep your readers reading through to the end of the post or article, it’s important that you provide them with content on the (more…)

This is a Guest Blog Post by Nicole Dean

More and more moms are getting into the blogging scene. Some for fun, some for profit, and some for both. Why not make money while you’re blogging about your favorite stuff, right?

It’s easier than ever to get started blogging. But the first thing you need before you begin is an idea for your domain name.

What is a domain name?

It’s the “www (dot) SOMETHING (dot) com” that people will type in to get to your blog. It’s like your address.

How do you Know What is a Good Domain Name?

There are some standards for what is a “great” domain name verses one that makes you wonder what on earth (more…)

One acronym for F.O.C.U.S is Follow One Course Until Successful.  Focused action can also mean turning your back on the audience so you can guide the orchestra to produce beautiful, melodious, well-coordinated music.

Last week I attended the 8^th Grade Graduation Ceremony of one of my young friends and a segment of the ceremony was a musical piece by the 8^th grade band…and what a beautiful selection it was! As I watched and listened my eyes were captured by the movements of the teacher who was conducting the band.

Her back was to the audience and her attention was focused on guiding, by the movement of her hands and the baton, the orchestra so that each member of the band knew exactly when to come in, and when to play louder or softer. This ensured that we, the audience, derived the best enjoyment from the musical piece.

As entrepreneurs we are the band leaders or conductors of our (more…)

I’ve been an avid country music fan since my early teens and alternatively annoyed many of my peers or converted others to appreciate country music. I’m now a huge fan of Classic Country although I still enjoy some of the modern country songs.  This morning I heard a song by Toby Keith, Country Music Superstar, that inspired my post. It’s entitled, “Somewhere Else.”   The line in the song that struck me was: If you don’t know where you’re going, you might end up somewhere else.

I couldn’t help thinking how true that could be about our online businesses.  Most offline business owners are very clear about what type of business they’ll engage in.  The lines are not always as clear for online businesses.

Many of us start our online businesses without a Business Plan; therefore, we have no clear path to follow.  We also do not have a (more…)