tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86891800325878515752024-03-12T21:00:18.333-07:00Solve the Entrepreneur PuzzleSelf Investment Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10225083845228383723noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-66872853422452298772015-01-16T13:20:00.000-08:002015-01-16T13:27:35.609-08:00Is Your Non-Profit Eligible for a Google Grant?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxrYf8ApM4mcfzf5NJg2nh24kIdlJBTjRSsl8scbWpoRrQDbW1fAjKmDrnphB7JzPeWWfm9n22lGMv1rmD22vdKhgUYUmxUCig37urRFK8Q98vMXa-GlYt5USrAwRpjVxxNfPaDsszNRKb/s1600/google-non-profit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxrYf8ApM4mcfzf5NJg2nh24kIdlJBTjRSsl8scbWpoRrQDbW1fAjKmDrnphB7JzPeWWfm9n22lGMv1rmD22vdKhgUYUmxUCig37urRFK8Q98vMXa-GlYt5USrAwRpjVxxNfPaDsszNRKb/s1600/google-non-profit.jpg" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>The Google for Nonprofits Program offers qualified organizations access to free versions of paid Google products and special features designed for nonprofits. </b><br />
<br />
These tools can help nonprofits find new donors and volunteers, work more efficiently, and get supporters to take action.<br />
<br />
Google for Nonprofits members have access to the following products:<br />
<ul>
<li>Premium branding capabilities on YouTube channels</li>
<li>Free AdWords advertising to promote your website on Google.com through keyword targeting. </li>
<li>Free Nonprofit Edition of Google Apps. </li>
<li>Free licensing for Maps API Premier </li>
<li>and more.</li>
</ul>
Your organization must be a registered and recognized 501(c)(3) in the United States.<br />
<ul>
<li>Organizations must be recognized by the IRS as tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations formed for charitable, educational, religious, literary, scientific, or other tax-exempt purposes.</li>
<li>Organizations that rely on the group 501(c)(3) exemption of a central (“umbrella”) organization can apply to Google for Nonprofits as a "related organization."</li>
<li>Organizations, such as churches, that are automatically considered tax-exempt must still obtain recognition of 501(c)(3) tax exemption from the IRS to qualify for the Google for Nonprofits program.</li>
</ul>
<br />
Also make sure your organization is updated on GuideStar.org, the go-to source when people search for information on a non-profit.<br />
<br />
Interested?! - follow this link to Google f<a href="https://www.google.com/nonprofits/account/u/0/signup/us" target="_blank">or more information and the application</a><br />
<br />
<br />Sumner http://www.blogger.com/profile/01076851282689064035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-35479422223808191682014-04-22T14:22:00.001-07:002015-01-16T13:19:27.977-08:00 IS YOUR WEBSITE COMPLIANT WITH THE LAW?<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arimo, Arial, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<img alt="Privacy Policy" class="alignleft wp-image-734" height="121" src="http://sumnerdavenport.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/proivacy-policy.jpg" style="border: 0px; color: transparent; float: left; font-size: 0px; margin: 5px 20px 20px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="125" />Some industries have specific rules they must adhere to for all their advertising and marketing, both offline and online. The Healthcare industry has specific marketing regulations, codes and guidelines. Lawyers and legal associations must follow Bar Rules. In California, this includes<a href="http://lawfirmmarketingstrategy.blogspot.com/2013/06/why-cant-i-say-that.html" style="border: 0px; color: #1f1f1f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"> Rule I-400</a>.</div>
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Any website, blog , internet site or application (app) that wants to stay in good standing with search engines, must follow their specific terms and conditions. The two largest, Google and Yahoo, have these webmaster guidelines prominently posted, updated and available.</div>
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There are also State and Federal laws governing how ALL websites must behave to insure the privacy of their visitors. There are additional laws (below) that are specific to protect the privacy of children. <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The following list does not cover all the internet privacy laws currently in force, or being proposed. You are advised to be knowledgeable of the laws that apply to your business – Federal, State and your specific industry.</strong></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arimo, Arial, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">CALIFORNIA</strong> – Online Privacy Protection Act of 2003 – <a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=bpc&group=22001-23000&file=22575-22579" style="border: 0px; color: #1f1f1f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">California Business and Professions Code sections 22575-22579.</a> This law requires operators of commercial web sites or online services that collect personal information on California residents through a web site to conspicuously post a privacy policy on the site and to comply with its policy. The privacy policy must, among other things, identify the categories of personally identifiable information collected about site visitors and the categories of third parties with whom the operator may share the information. The privacy policy must also provide information on the operator’s online tracking practices. An operator is in violation for failure to post a policy within 30 days of being notified of noncompliance, or if the operator either knowingly and willfully or negligently and materially fails to comply with the provisions of its policy. This law takes effect July 1, 2004.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arimo, Arial, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB370" style="border: 0px; color: #1f1f1f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Assembly Bill No. 370 (AB 370)</a> amends Section 22575 of the state’s Business and Professions Code. Section 22575 requires the operator of a website that collects personally identifiable information on consumers residing in California who use or visit the site to conspicuously post its privacy policy on the site. (The operator of an online service must make its privacy policy available by any reasonable accessible means.)As amended by AB 370, Section 22575 requires such an operator to include in its privacy policy a description of how the operator responds to do-not-track settings in consumers’ browsers. The law describes such settings as “signals or other mechanisms that provide consumers the ability to exercise choice regarding the collection of personally identifiable information about an individual consumer’s online activities over time and across third-party Web sites or online services.” An operator can satisfy the new requirement “by providing a clear and conspicuous hyperlink in the operator’s privacy policy to an online location containing a description, including the effects, of any program or protocol the operator follows that offers the consumer that choice.” The law also requires an operator to disclose in its privacy policy whether, when a consumer uses the operator’s website or service, other parties can collect personally identifiable information about a consumer’s online activities “over time and across different Web sites.”</li>
</ul>
<ul style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arimo, Arial, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">CALIFORNIA NON PROFIT COMPANIES</strong> – <a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=edc&group=99001-100000&file=99120-99122" style="border: 0px; color: #1f1f1f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">California Ed. Code § 99122</a><br />Requires private nonprofit or for-profit postsecondary educational institutions to post a social media privacy policy on the institution’s Internet Web site</li>
</ul>
<ul style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arimo, Arial, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">CONNECTICUT</strong> G<a href="http://www.cga.ct.gov/2011/pub/chap743dd.htm#Sec42-471.htm" style="border: 0px; color: #1f1f1f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">en. Stat. § 42-471</a><br />Requires any person who collects Social Security numbers in the course of business to create a privacy protection policy. The policy must be “publicly displayed” by posting on a web page and the policy must (1) protect the confidentiality of Social Security numbers, (2) prohibit unlawful disclosure of Social Security numbers, and (3) limit access to Social Security numbers.</li>
</ul>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">ADDITIONAL LAWS TO PROTECT CHILDREN’S PRIVACY</strong></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arimo, Arial, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?rgn=div5&node=16:1.0.1.3.36" style="border: 0px; color: #1f1f1f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Children's Online Privacy Protection Ru;e (">Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (“COPPA”)</a>. COPPA imposes certain requirements on operators of websites or online services directed to children under 13 years of age, and on operators of other websites or online services that have actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information online from a child under 13 years of age.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arimo, Arial, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;">Calif. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ <a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=bpc&group=22001-23000&file=22580-22582" style="border: 0px; color: #1f1f1f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">22580-22582</a> (<a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/sen/sb_0551-0600/sb_568_bill_20130923_chaptered.htm" style="border: 0px; color: #1f1f1f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">2013 S.B. 568, Chapter 336</a>) (Effective 1/1/2015.)<br />California’s Privacy Rights for California Minors in the Digital World Act, also called the “eraser” bill, will permit minors to remove, or to request and obtain removal of, content or information posted on an Internet Web site, online service, online application, or mobile application. It also prohibits an operator of a Web site or online service directed to minors from marketing or advertising to minors specified products or services that minors are legally prohibited from buying. The law also will prohibit marketing or advertising certain products based on personal information specific to a minor or knowingly using, disclosing, compiling, or allowing a third party to do so.</li>
</ul>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </strong><br />Laws regarding making false and misleading statements in website Privacy Policies</div>
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<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">NEBRASKA</strong> <a href="http://uniweb.legislature.ne.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=87-302" style="border: 0px; color: #1f1f1f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Nebraska Stat. § 87-302(14)</a><br />Nebraska prohibits knowingly making a false or misleading statement in a privacy policy, published on the Internet or otherwise distributed or published, regarding the use of personal information submitted by members of the public.</li>
</ul>
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<li style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">PENNSYLVANIA</strong> <a href="http://government.westlaw.com/linkedslice/default.asp?SP=pac-1000" style="border: 0px; color: #1f1f1f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">18 Pa. C.S.A. § 4107(a)(10)</a><br />Pennsylvania includes false and misleading statements in privacy policies published on Web sites or otherwise distributed in its deceptive or fraudulent business practices statute.</li>
</ul>
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Your privacy policy should be specific to your website, blog, app, etc. and not simply copy of someone else’s. Your privacy policy should be as unique and specific as your business.</div>
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Is your website compliant? Contact us to discuss your specific industry website, your goals and needs. <a href="http://sumnerdavenport.com/contact-us" style="border: 0px; color: #1f1f1f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Click to e-mail us</a> or call 800-569-8279</div>
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Additional Resources:</div>
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<a href="http://1.usa.gov/1jxxQEh" style="border: 0px; color: #1f1f1f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="SBA">SBA and Privacy Policy</a><br /><a href="http://1.usa.gov/1jxxQEh" style="border: 0px; color: #1f1f1f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="FTC and Mobile Scrutiny">FTC</a><br /><a href="http://1.usa.gov/1iDONiC" style="border: 0px; color: #1f1f1f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Children's Online Privacy">Cal Gov</a><br /><a href="http://1.usa.gov/QsDNu4" style="border: 0px; color: #1f1f1f; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="FTC Privacy and Security">FTC Privacy and Security</a></div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8689180032587851575"></a>Sumner http://www.blogger.com/profile/01076851282689064035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-68391173785292081302013-08-02T10:46:00.000-07:002013-08-02T10:46:19.642-07:00Adapting to The Change to Gmail TabsHow do you feel about the changes to your Gmail inbox. Do you like how Google has separated your emails into specific tabs and made determinations on your behalf which emails go into which tab?<br />
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Some of your important and favorite emails may no longer be considered "primary" emails. Equally bad, your clients may not be aware that your emails are being filtered to one of the other tabs instead of your primary box.<br />
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It would be nice if Google allowed you to make your own custom tabs, however, they have limited you to only 5 of their designs described here in Google's words:<br />
<ul>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Primary: Messages from friends and family, as well as any other messages that don't appear in other tabs. Also messages from senders that you have previously starred.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Promotions: Your deals, offers and other promotional emails. </li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Social Messages: From social networks, media-sharing sites, online dating services, gaming platforms and other social websites.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Updates: Notifications such as confirmations, receipts, bills and statements.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Forums: Messages from online groups, discussion boards and mailing lists.</li>
</ul>
<br />
You can instruct Gmail to automatically send emails from certain senders into particular tabs.<br />
<ul>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Right-click on this email (if it has been filed under the incorrect tab heading), hover over the "Move to Tab" option that appears in the pop-up box, and select the tab where you want it to be.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Alternatively, you can drag and drop to your choice of tab.</li>
</ul>
Gmail will then ask you if you want it to "Do this for future messages from [<a href="mailto:email@example.com" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">email@example.com</a>]?" Click "yes" and future emails from that address will auto-filter into the Primary tab.<br />
<em><strong><br /></strong></em>
<i><b>Google Ads</b></i><br />
<br />
Included in your "promotions" tab in-box will be targeted ads that are designed to appear more like email than an ad. The idea, of course, if for you to click on it and hopefully buy something. These are ads from Google advertisers, which has been selected for your inbox based on keywords the advertiser selected match similar words or phrases in your emails.According to Google "Ad targeting in Gmail is fully automated, and no humans read your email or Google Account information in order to show you advertisements or related information" It's all handled by Google's algorithms. The only way to stop these ads, at present, is to delete the "promotions" tab, however, the ads may show up in another tab in the future.<br />
<i><b><br /></b></i>
<i><b>On the Good Side</b></i><br />
<i><b><br /></b></i>If you like the idea of mail being sorted for you into specific tabs so you can more quicky filter through them, you may like this new layout. You can choose which tabs your emails will be sorted into. If you take a look at the promotions tab you might recognize many of email blasts and newsletter subscriptions. This can be helpful to have them all in one place so you can easily delete the ones you don't want and see the ones you do.<br />
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<em><strong>Disabling Tabs </strong></em><br />
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If you dislike the new tabs functionality and want to return to the traditional inbox layout, click the "+" icon to the right of the tab heading, un-check every tab box (apart from "Primary" which is a default) and your inbox will revert to the old design., for now, or until Google decides to make this new layout permanent for all Gmail accounts.<br />
<i><b><br /></b></i>
<i><b>Help Your Customers Get Your Emails</b></i><br />
<i><b><br /></b></i>
To assist your customers in seeing your emails, send them the instructions or a link to this blog post, so they know how to filter your emails to land in the primary tab.<br />
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One thing we all know for certain, is that there will be always be change.<br />
<br />
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. <br />It is the one that is the most adaptable to change."<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue;">~ Charles Darwin</span></p></div>Sumner http://www.blogger.com/profile/01076851282689064035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-46799764217875660182013-06-18T12:52:00.000-07:002013-06-18T12:52:12.092-07:00When should you redesign your website?Everyday at least one of my clients receives an email from someone stating they their website needs to be updated, and the unknown email sender is the best person to do it.
Everyday new people enter the arena of webdesign. some take a software class, others an online class and some buy a program of templates.<br />
<br />
I am asked, how often should a website be updated? And what is the difference between a web designer and website development?<br />
<br />
First, your website should be updated when:<br />
1.) You have broken links, missing images, difficult navigation, outdated content or outdated firm image.<br />
2.) Significant changes are made to search algorithms and your site results are beginning to decline<br />
3.) You've added new personnel or new products/sservices<br />
4.) You have new success stories that your potential clients can learn from or be inspired by<br />
5.) You have received acknowledgements or have articles newly published in significant journals.<br />
<br />
When not to update:<br />
1.) Someone guarantees you top placement in search results if they redesign your entire website. To guarantee something it to promise for absolute certain that it will happen. According to Google, there are black-hat techniques that can get your website in the top results - for a short time. However, long term success cannot be guaranteed. And black-hat techniques can come back to haunt you, including getting you black listed from search databases.<br />
2.) You're bored with the look. Being pretty isn't always necessary. If your site is still bringing in new clients and referrals, it may not need a complete overhaul. You may need simple changes to colors and layouts to please your eye without losing the effect the content is making.<br />
3.) You don't know if it's really pulling in results. Before deciding your entire site isn't working, be sure to check the analytics and see what pages or content areas are drawing traffic. By analyzing your traffic reports, you will see your website's strength and possible weaknesses.<br />
4.) Because the new kid on the block or the email you just received told you to do it. If someone is telling you that your website is broken, and they are the only ones to fix it - think before acting. If someone approached you with that logic on another areas of your business or personal life, - not knowing you or your objectives - would you immediately hire them?<br />
<br />
Many persons selling web services are offering their opinion, their companies opinion and the limitations of their designs. Some will use a marketing service, ( ie Yext, Citygrid, etc) to show you your results. If so, double-check these results. Many times these reports are incorrect, plus these are for-fee services, so the more their report indicates you need them, the easier it becomes to sell you their service.<br />
<br />
A good web developer will use unrelated opinions, ie: other web developers who don't work or are paid by them, and focus groups. Always ask how they derived their assessment of your website and web presence.<br />
<br />
Sometimes it's time to refresh your look. It's always time to keep your content current. <br />
<br />
Analyze what you have before you agree to an overhaul, when a simple refresh is all you need.<br />
<br />
Think of the big picture and long term.<br />
<br />
If you've been told that your website needs an overhaul or you feel the need for changes, <a href="mailto:marketing@solutionsconsultant.net" rel="nofollow"><b><u>let's talk. Click to email us.</u></b></a> We'll listen first, look at your online presence and then offer our recommendations. One size does not fit all.The solution for you should be unique to your business and goals. Maybe you only need a refresh.<br />
<br />
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<br />Sumner http://www.blogger.com/profile/01076851282689064035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-88158093994819378932013-03-11T11:01:00.001-07:002013-03-11T11:01:18.566-07:00Have you ever wondered how search works?<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Have you ever wondered how search engines actually work to deliver you the results you seek in the blink of an eye?</span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The following link is an interactive inforgraphic by Google to give an insight into what happens between the request of a search query and the retrieval of results.<br />
<br />
As you watch this, note how often "freshness" and "content" are mentioned. </span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<a href="http://www.google.com/insidesearch/howsearchworks/thestory/">http://www.google.com/insidesearch/howsearchworks/thestory/</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Keeping the content on your website current and updated regularly with helpful and relevant information is very important. So if your website hasn't been updated in a while, regardless of how attractive it might be or how important you think that information is, it may be time to tweak, add to, change or restructure your website for better results.</span>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">If you think your website needs an overhaul, </span><a href="mailto:marketing@solutionsconsultant.net" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3e43ca; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;"><b><u>let's talk. Click to email us.</u></b></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> We'll listen first, look at your online presence and then offer our recommendations. One size does not fit all.The solution for you should be unique to your business and goals. </span>Sumner http://www.blogger.com/profile/01076851282689064035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-22794128452739609552013-02-13T13:01:00.001-08:002013-02-13T13:01:45.956-08:00So What You Do BestWhether you are a solopreneuer or you are a growing enterprise, marketing is essential if you want to keep pace and grow in today's marketplace. The Internet is a powerful marketing tool - when used strategically and correctly. A few common mistakes that can hurt you, might include:<br />
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<b>A website that looks like everyone else, with common content.</b><br />
When your website looks like everyone else then how does your potential clients see you as any different. This mistake s usually made by using the same template you liked on someone else's site, or using a web company with limited knowledge or access to templates.<br />
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<b>Entrepreneurs who post personal activities on their social media profiles.</b><br />
Most entrepreneurs (hopefully) know it's important to keep a balance between personal and professional activities. however, what you think is a cute joke or "no harm" comment just might show up in a search by a potential client and it could turn them away. I know one professional who loves to post "funny" jokes on her not-really-private profile, that are demeaning or poke fun at certain groups or behaviors. Not only will this send away potential clients in these groups, it will also alienate those who don't support these same attitudes.<br />
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<b>Entrepreneurs who control it all </b><br />
Some people do love to brag how they can wear all the hats, however, that well-known figure of speech <i>"Jack of all trades, master of none"</i> is used in reference to a person that is competent with many skills but is not necessarily outstanding in any particular one. This person is a generalist rather than a specialist. In your business, you should be the specialist. It is important that you have an understanding of what the Internet can do for you, however, the playing field is changing multiple times a day. The learning never ends. What you are doing today may not hold up to the search engine algorithms, or the changes in various social media policies and offerings. The biggest mistake in doing it all yourself is how much time you take away from what you do best -<i>your business.</i><br />
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<b>The worst mistake is to stop marketing</b><br />
Every day new entrepreneurs are entering the already competitive marketplace. Although the Internet is growing in persuasive power every day, it is only one component that should be included in your overall marketing plan. Some entrepreneurs stop marketing because they think they have enough clients for now; then things slow now and panic ensues. Marketing through print, personal networking, speaking engagements, associations and events should also be in your marketing arsenal. Each one is powerful, however, putting them together in a strategic marketing plan can be even more effective for you.<br />
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Whether you are looking to attract clients or referrals from other entrepreneurs, the image they see on the Internet will play into their decision about you.<br />
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So do what you do best, and trust your assistants or outside consultants to assist you in maximizing the potential of the Internet.Sumner http://www.blogger.com/profile/01076851282689064035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-67088111810168344022012-08-18T13:44:00.000-07:002012-08-18T13:44:05.690-07:00Cheap yet costly SEO mistakesHow important is it to monitor your internet presence?<br />
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Unfortunately many individual and businesses assign the task of their website and internet marketing to an employee in their company or hire a service, and then just assume it will be fine.<br />
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Unfortunately, employees get distracted with other firm matters, or leave the company for another job; and with the ease of web templates, just about anyone advertising themselves as an internet marketing expert can give the impression that they know what they are doing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyLHBQVFYeothdnGTIkTmEKiooETgVd-kZa4GAf1FyioRO5CGlnm1EYw7PyFnuy58ecT1KmQe9fT5WicD-1GVlpuLPeglkq9Y2AwNCgDVb8Sy_ySZppI1L5gMueGjTYMm9w9tZFHyiSOU/s1600/ostrich.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyLHBQVFYeothdnGTIkTmEKiooETgVd-kZa4GAf1FyioRO5CGlnm1EYw7PyFnuy58ecT1KmQe9fT5WicD-1GVlpuLPeglkq9Y2AwNCgDVb8Sy_ySZppI1L5gMueGjTYMm9w9tZFHyiSOU/s200/ostrich.jpg" width="124" /></a></div>
<b><i>What could possibly go wrong?</i></b><br />
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This week when monitoring the internet presence of a few potential new clients, I discovered a handful of dangerous yet preventable errors. Unfortunately this errors are more difficult to correct once they are online. With the change in search algorithms changing regularly, what worked yesterday may now seriously work against you today. What I discovered aren't tactics that a knowledgeable webmaster or internet marketer would use, especially since the introduction of Penguin and Panda.<br />
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<b> * Black-Hat Techniques.</b><br />
Be cautious of companies that promise immediate first page Google ranking. “Black hat webspam” is referred to as techniques where the intent is to look for shortcuts or loopholes that would rank pages higher than they deserve to be ranked according to webmaster guidelines. Use of Black Hat webspam, once discovered by Google and other search engines, can get your site penalized and potentially de-listed. Short term exposure on the first page, could result in log term penalty.<br />
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<b>* Bulk directory service.</b><br />
This weekend as I did my internet research on a few new referrals, I found one company listed on several sites, <i>but with a wrong phone number.</i> In fact it was the phone number of the company they hired to provide their SEO. Their company name, address as well as the photos were correct, however someone calling the number listed would not have reached them. This happens when a bulk listing service is used. The bulk listing service uses the account holders phone number to verify the listings on directory pages such as: yellowpages, yahoo local listings and other popular online directories. The solution if you use a bulk listing service, is to have an account set up exclusively for (you) the client by the SEO company, and have the bulk service company phone verify your actual phone number. It's an extra step that involves someone at your office answering the phone and listening to a computerized code; however, those few minutes could save you from lost clients calling the wrong phone number. You also want to make sure that you are being listed on only legitimate sites and not content farms, which will also work against you. The SEO company can still manage the account, however, the account is one of your internet assets. ( I've written about the importance of your ownership of your internet assets in another post.)<br />
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<b>* Paid Inbound Links:</b><br />
Years ago, cross linking (you list my website on your site, and I'll list yours on mine) was a popular way to increase traffic and give the impression of a site being popular. That tactic was quickly disregarded by all search engines and cross-lining was soon replaced by purchased inbound links. For a fee you could have your company and website listed on numerous worldwide sites which would offer a guarantee of high volume traffic to your site. This volume, again, gave the impression that your site was popular and therefore would rank high in search results. With the release of Penguin, these kinds of marketing ploys are considered web spam, an artificial inflation of the relevance of your website. Google penalizes sites for being deceptive and your site may not only lose it's ranking, it can also lose it's place in Google's index. People tend to forget that Google owns the database that indexes the search results. If you are no longer in the database, then your site will only be found by someone with your specific web address.<br />
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<b>* Article Sites. </b><br />
If you enjoy writing, article marketing was once a long-standing highly used tool to post your same content several different sites with a link back to your website. This practice no longer has the search popularity it once had and at worst, it can cause your site to be penalized by Google and therefore not show up in search results. There are a few legitimate, well respected sites to post your informative articles and receive search benefits.<br />
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<b> * Content Farms. </b><br />
No time to write? Thinking about hiring someone to write your articles for you, or reposting someone else's article, blog or news story to add content to your site? These are all considered farming by Google's algorithm Panda. Ghostwriters have a similarity in their writing and seldom provide unique content to their clients. Instead they rewrite certain phrases, leaving the bulk of the article or blog appearing very similar to the one they wrote for someone else. Using someone who writes exclusively for you is second only to you writing your own articles. According to Google's webmaster guidelines, Panda is designed to reduce rankings for sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful. Google likes original, timely content that is informative, educational and useful to the reader. You can take a news story and comment heavily on it, providing a new perspective or in depth analysis, however, simply reposting the original story will cause your site to be considered a farmer, and of low value to searchers.<br />
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<b>* Over Optimization
</b><br />
Optimize and SEO are buzzwords that have been chanted by many internet marketers with such a passion that many attorneys repeat these phrases as the holy grail fro their website, yet without any real understanding of what is it and how it can help or hurt your site. One method of over optimization is taking a keyword or phrase and over using it or repeating too many sentences on several pages or multiple sites. Repeating your tag line is one thing, repeating your area of practice over and again is over-kill. There are several other over-kill techniques that can cause your website to fall below the search engine approval. To get the best attention fro search engines, websites should be written for the reader and not for search engines.<br />
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It is important to your online success and identity to stay alert of any exposure on the internet. Not only to make sure your contact information is correct, but to make sure that the person's posting about you are known to you; are doing so with your permission and/or are in your employ.<br />
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The longer something is on the internet, the more difficult it is to remove. I once heard that the more times a lie is told, the more people believe it, it soon becomes assumed as the truth and more difficult to correct.<br />
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It's easier than you may think for someone to post erroneous information about you or post information that helps them to steal your clients or your personal identity.<br />
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Conducting a regular Google search, or using Google alerts is important, however remember there are several other large search engines that also may be storing information about you. Be alert, be proactive and be in better control over your internet assets.<br />
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<br />Sumner http://www.blogger.com/profile/01076851282689064035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-18469283315169326232012-04-30T10:06:00.000-07:002012-04-30T10:06:52.830-07:00Learn what you need to know about business & money - for freeContinuing your education while running your business is essential for your success. The following are free online resources to assist you in furthering your knowledge and gaining information to assist your business growth:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li"><strong><a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/sloan-school-of-management/" none;"="" text-decoration:="">• MIT Sloan School of Management</a></strong> – MIT Sloan is a world-class business school long renowned for thought leadership and the ability to successfully partner theory and practice. This is a subsection of the larger MIT OpenCourseWare site.<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.investopedia.com/university/" none;"="" text-decoration:=""><strong>• Investopedia Financial Investing Tutorials</strong></a> – A plethora of detailed lessons on money management and investing.<br /><br />
<li"><a href="http://www.sba.gov/training/index.html" none;"="" text-decoration:=""><strong> • U.S. Small Business Administration Training Network</strong></a> – The Small Business Administration has one of the best selections of business courses on the web. Topics include everything from starting a business and business management to government contracting and international trade. Most courses take only 30 minutes to complete. <br /><br />
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<li"><a href="http://www.myownbusiness.org/course_sba.html" none;"="" text-decoration:=""><strong> • My Own Business, Inc.</strong></a> – Offers a free online business administration course that would be beneficial to new managers and to anyone who is interested in starting a business. This comprehensive course is split up into 16 sessions covering topics like business plans, accounting, marketing, insurance, e-commerce and international trade.<br /><br />
<li"><a href="http://ocw.uci.edu/courses/?cat=7" none;"="" text-decoration:=""><strong> • UC Irvine OpenCourseWare (Business)</strong></a> – Rapidly with the addition of nearly 10 new courses every month. Many of our OCW offerings are directed at working adults seeking continuing education, with the option to enroll in instructor-led, for-credit courses, related to the OCW content. <br /><br />
<li"><a href="http://www.kutztownsbdc.org/course_listing.asp" none;"="" text-decoration:=""><strong> • Kutztown University of Pennsylvania</strong></a> – The Kutztown University of Pennsylvania’s Small Business Development Center offers more than 80 free business courses online. Kutztown’s courses are individualized and self-paced. Many of the courses feature high-end graphics, interactive case studies and audio streams.<br /><br />
<li"><a href="http://frontrow.bc.edu/programs/?category=2" none;"="" text-decoration:=""><strong> • Boston College Front Row (Business)</strong></a> – Boston College Front Row is a Web site that offers free access through streaming media to tapes of cultural and scholarly events at Boston College.<br /><br />
<li"><a href="http://www.exinfm.com/training/" none;"="" text-decoration:=""><strong> • Financial Management Training Center</strong></a> – The Financial Management Training Center provides several free downloadable business courses for people who need to learn the finer points of financial management. All courses offered can be taken online; courses include full exams as well as evaluation forms for people seeking Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits.<br /><br />
<li"><a href="http://www.managementhelp.org/np_progs/org_dev.htm#anchor660058" none;"="" text-decoration:=""><strong> • The Free Nonprofit Micro-eMBA</strong></a> – Free Management Library’s Free Nonprofit Micro-eMBA Program is an especially great resource for students wishing to learn more about nonprofit management, but most of the lessons also apply to general business management. Completion of this program will not result in an MBA degree, but enrollment is free and the material is well structured.<br /><br />
<li"><a href="http://bookboon.com/us/business" none;"="" text-decoration:=""><strong> • Bookboon Free Business e-books</strong></a> – Hundreds of free business books online in PDF format.<br /><br />
<li"><a href="http://www.thestreet.com/tsc/basics/index.html" none;"="" text-decoration:=""><strong> • TheStreet University</strong></a> – If you’re just starting out as a stock and bond investor or need a refresher’s course, this is the place to learn what you need to know.<br /><br />
<li"><a href="http://www.ocwconsortium.org/" none;"="" text-decoration:=""> • <strong>OpenCourseWare Consortium</strong></a> – This site provides a portal to search through hundreds of free courses or to add new courses you know about to the database.<br /><br />
<li"><a href="http://iberry.com/" none;"="" text-decoration:=""><strong>• iBerry</strong></a> – Check out this site for a huge directory of open courseware organized by school and subject matter that can point you in the right direction for any type of learning.<br /><br />
<li"><a href="http://www.selfmadescholar.com/classes.php" none;"="" text-decoration:=""><strong> • Self Made Scholar Directory</strong></a> – Free online directory of web-based classes and courses.</li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></ul>
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<ul><li"><li"><li"><li"><li"><li"><li"><li"><li"><li"><li"><li"><li"><li">Wishing you awesome and continuing success.</li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></ul>
<ul><li"><li"><li"><li"><li"><li"><li"><li"><li"><li"><li"><li"><li"><li"><a href="http://solvetheentrepreneurpuzzle.com/">Solve the Entrepreneur Puzzle</a></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></li"></ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Two reasons to write your
<a href="http://solvetheentrepreneurpuzzle.com/nav/Plan/business-plan-checklist.htm">business plan:</a><br /><b><span style="color: navy;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: navy;">STUDIES SHOW: </span></b>85% of the people that do not take
the time to plan their businesses or career will not reach their desired level
of success or will fail altogether. Of those that do take the time to write
their plan, 85% will succeed.<br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: navy;">STUDIES SHOW:
</span></b>40% of people with a strategic plan will double their income and
profits within two years of writing their plan.<br />With a strategic plan,
greater than 70% of these people will exceed their own expectations within the
next 5 years <b><i>regardless of economic conditions.</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> <v:shape alt="" id="_x0000_s1083" style="height: 3.11mm; width: 3.11mm;" type="#_x0000_t75">
<v:imagedata o:href="file:///C:\DATA\Clients\SI\SI-main\SI%20web%2010-08-07\images\blue-button.gif" src="biz-tips_files/image001.gif"></v:imagedata></v:shape> <v:shape alt="" id="_x0000_s1084" style="height: 3.11mm; width: 3.11mm;" type="#_x0000_t75"><v:imagedata o:href="file:///C:\DATA\Clients\SI\SI-main\SI%20web%2010-08-07\images\blue-button.gif" src="biz-tips_files/image001.gif"></v:imagedata></v:shape> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">"A good hockey player
plays where the puck is. <bt>A great hockey player plays where the puck is going
to be. " ~ <b>Wayne Gretzky </b></bt></span></div>
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Sumner http://www.blogger.com/profile/01076851282689064035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-44334820453099075822012-03-07T10:51:00.001-08:002012-03-07T10:51:18.181-08:00Why "Likes" Alone Are Not EnoughThey’re only one piece of the puzzle.<br /><br />Just because someone liked your business page doesn't mean they are reading your posts, or after the new Facebook algorithm update, they may not even be seeing your posts.<p></p><p>Page "likes" are only the beginning of the relationship. Social media and networking is about building relationships and not just advertising yourself. </p><p>When you posts are "shared", it is usually an indication that someone not only liked what you posted, but wanted to share it with their network of friends as well. </p><p>Your marketing goals should include posting interesting and relative content on your page and sharing other people's posts. When you share theirs, they become more interested to see what you are posting. If you share someone else's post, they might be motivated to come back and comment on your shared post, which then keeps your page name in front of their network, and their network's network, and so on, and so on....</p><p>Simply put:<br />1. Post great content that people want to tell their network about.<br />2. Share content that you find interesting and you want to tell your network of friends and fans about<br />3. Make comments with substance and invite continued interaction.<br />4. Comment from your business page, not your profile, if you want people to be drawn to your business page.<br />5. Repeat<br /><br />Wishing you awesome and continuing success.</p><p style="font-size: 100%; "><br /></p><p><br /><span><a href="http://www.solutionsconsultant.net/Sumner" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 50, 8); ">Sumner M. Davenport</a> is a Solutions Consultant.<br />Best Selling Author and Keynote Speaker<br />Solutions, not just answers.<br />Solutions are not one-size-fits-all.<br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/sumner.davenport" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 50, 8); ">Follow on Facebook</a></span> </p>Sumner http://www.blogger.com/profile/01076851282689064035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-81277094797081651282011-11-14T09:38:00.000-08:002011-11-14T09:44:08.934-08:00Success with QR CodesQR codes are being used in creative ways on business cards, company brochures, signs, apparel and at fundraising events to promote instant giving.<br /><br />A Chili’s fundraising campaign for childhood cancer resulted in 291,000 QR code scans that appeared on coloring sheets and table tents created specifically for the effort.<br /><br />“With the ever-growing presence of technology in our guests’ daily lives, Chili’s utilized this up-and-coming trend as a unique way to reach our supporters of St. Jude,” Ms. Flowers said. “With more than 290,000 QR codes scanned throughout the campaign, this medium proved to be an effective and tech-savvy way of encouraging guests to donate.”<br /><br />Read more at: <a href="http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/2011/11/14/chili%E2%80%99s-cause-marketing-effort-results-in-291000-qr-code-scans">Mobil Commerce Daily</a><div><br /></div><div>Read previous blog post: <a href="http://solveentrepreneurpuzzle.blogspot.com/2011/02/qr-codes-or-scan-tags-using-them-and.html">QR codes or Scan tags</a> – Using them? and how are they working for you?</div>Sumner http://www.blogger.com/profile/01076851282689064035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-55367712338390947222011-10-23T10:23:00.000-07:002011-10-23T10:24:27.831-07:00Why Website Content is So Important to SEOContent, content, content....a word that seems like nagging to many of my clients. <div><br />The major search engines are focusing on creating the best possible user experience, which means sites that offer relevant (new, creative and unique)information stand to gain the most visibility.<br /><br />This following image provides a graphic explanation of the importance of content. To see the enlarged size, <a href="http://sumnerdavenport.com/infographic.htm">click here</a>.</div><div><br /><a href="http://www.brafton.com/infographics/why-content-for-seo?utm_source=infographic&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=large&utm_campaign=why-content-for-seo" title="View Brafton's Infographic: Why Content for SEO?" target="_blank"><img src="http://cdn.brafton.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/WhyContentForSEO_FINAL_2-365x999.png" alt="Brafton's Infographic: Why Content for SEO?" height="999" width="365" /></a><br /></div>Sumner http://www.blogger.com/profile/01076851282689064035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-28897233359923772742011-08-15T16:29:00.000-07:002011-08-15T16:30:31.419-07:00How Online Retailers Make You Spend More<p><img src="http://cdn.vouchercodes.co.uk/media/vouchercodes_checkoutgame-600x4629.jpg" title="Buyer Be Aware - How Online Retailers Make You Spend More" /></p>
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<br /></span></p>Sumner http://www.blogger.com/profile/01076851282689064035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-23258012822574670242011-05-26T10:40:00.000-07:002011-05-26T10:42:05.338-07:00Eliminate the paper - app alternative to business cards<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ditch that pile of biz cards, and use Hashable to exchange contact information instead. Type in a person's email address or Twitter handle to exchange contact info. <a href="http://hashable.com/beta">Hashable</a> automatically tags these contacts with location and date so you can find them later – and <a href="http://hashable.com/beta">Hashable</a> will send you an email with a list of everyone you met at the end of each week to make follow-up easier.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Track your meetings, calls and other events. For your private use, or coordinate with your friends, coworkers, teammates.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And for those of you Hashing it up from Twitter – they've created a whole slate of event tags to make things even easier. Any time you Tweet with someone using any of the event tags – <a href="http://hashable.com/beta">Hashable</a> will pick it up. By using these tags from Twitter, you can sort your contacts in Hashable to find the people you met at each event.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">This is not a paid advertisement no affiliate link. We receive no compensation for telling you about this app.</span>Self Investment Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10225083845228383723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-88432840728158867902011-05-12T10:59:00.000-07:002011-06-07T16:07:03.013-07:00Security on Facebook, app to scan and protect your accountRecently a number of people found malicious and offensive posts on their profiles and pages. Unfortunately these posts were not from the persons indicated. Some form of hacking had taken place.<br /><br />An excellent article was written in March on PCMag.com on two apps that can protect your Facebook account.<br /><br />One app, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=310877173418">Norton Safe Web for Facebook</a> is bundled with the Norton products, but anybody can use it for free. It scans your Facebook page's links and reports any bad ones.<br /><br />If you're concerned about dangerous links (and you should be), there is also another app recommended and more info in this article at <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2381933,00.asp">PCMAG.com</a> .<br /><br />Happy and safe networkingSumner http://www.blogger.com/profile/01076851282689064035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-8155960719418562972011-04-21T10:06:00.000-07:002011-04-21T10:06:26.318-07:00Let your challenges spur your creativity<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Walt Disney had a passionate desire to pursue a career in commercial art, which is how he began his original experiments in animation. He started by producing short animated films for local businesses in Kansas City. By the time Walt had started to create The Alice Comedies, which was about a real girl and her adventures in an animated world, he ran out of money. His company at the time, Laugh-O-Grams went bankrupt. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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Instead of giving up, Walt packed his suitcase and with his unfinished print of The Alice Comedies in hand, headed for Hollywood to start a new business. It was Walt Disney’s enthusiasm and faith in himself and others that took him straight to the top of Hollywood society. Walt Disney's dream of a clean and organized amusement park also came true when Disneyland Park in Anaheim opened in 1955.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wally Amos opened his first Famous Amos store, with cookies based on his aunt's recipe which he baked himself. Within 10 years his sales had grown to more than $10 million. Due to financial troubles, Amos was forced to sell the Famous Amos Company, and trademarked name "Famous Amos".</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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Turning adversity into opportunity, Amos launched a new cookie venture, The Uncle Noname's Cookie Company. With America's tastes shifting towards healthier foods, the company focused on fat-free, nutritious muffins at that time. Uncle Noname ultimately became Uncle Wally's Muffin Company in 1999. The muffins are sold in more than 3,500 stores nationwide.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dr. Seuss’ first book was rejected by over 27 publishers. He had a fleeting thought to burn the manuscript. Instead he sent it out one more time.”</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; line-height: 18px;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span></i></span>"As you begin to move forward in the direction of your vision, you may encounter delays. Every delay is not a denial. It simply means that you are getting something that you're gonna need to go forward"</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">~ Michael Bernard Beckwith</span>Self Investment Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10225083845228383723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-54882408328398133172011-04-15T10:10:00.000-07:002011-04-15T10:11:32.460-07:00Google Branding With Charlie ChaplinHave you visited Google today? Google is known, among other things, for their branding strategy of consistently updating their Google logo on their home page. Colorful images, clever layouts and even animation.<br />
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Today they celebrate English comic actor and director, Charlie Chaplin's 122nd birthday with a short Chaplin style video doodle; which amuses you and cleverly places Google's logo into the era. From the first frame to Charlie reading a Google newspaper, to the more obvious Google logo set up by the painter. At the end of the video you are forwarded to a Google search results page with everything Charlie Chaplin.<br />
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Other businesses can learn from this branding approach. It takes creativity and planning. Although the majority of searches are made from Google, one might think they don't need to continually market themselves. Google is smart enough to know that marketing your brand should never stop.<br />
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Using creativity to bring people to your website, could increase your consistent traffic. Let people ask" "I wonder what they have on their website today that will educate me, amuse me, motivate me, etc." and "what will I miss, if I don't visit?"<br />
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.Self Investment Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10225083845228383723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-33773739244221894182011-04-04T10:43:00.000-07:002011-04-04T10:48:18.678-07:00Seeking Small Business Case Study Profiles<span class="Apple-style-span" >For a new television show that will air in the St. Louis metropolitan area, Susan Solovic is looking for small businesses who are facing a particular business challenge and would be willing to be profiled.<br /><br />You must be comfortable talking about your business challenge. The profile segments will be shot at your business location and then business experts will discuss your challenge and offer advice during the time the show airs.<br /><br />Please submit the name of your business, location, years in business, your name<br />and title and the nature of the business challenge with which you are dealing.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" >Email your submission to: query-9ub@helpareporter.com</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><b>Deadline: 07:00 PM EST - 6 April</b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>.</b></span></div></div></div>Sumner http://www.blogger.com/profile/01076851282689064035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-82572079688335190182011-04-04T08:59:00.000-07:002011-04-04T08:59:03.098-07:00Seeking Entrepreneur Success Stories<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seeking Entrepreneurs who are willing to share their entrepreneur success stories as well as their thoughts on Gen Y and entrepreneurship for an online Entrepreneur Publication.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Email: <a href="mailto:query-139i@helpareporter.com">query-139i@helpareporter.com</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Deadline: 07:00 PM EST - 5 April</b></span>Self Investment Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10225083845228383723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-80520836623386609822011-03-27T14:01:00.000-07:002011-03-27T14:01:09.896-07:00Been verified or privacy danger?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You may have heard the TV ads offering yo the chance to do a background search on someone, a friend, a potential date, etc.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We looked into BeenVerifed and became more alarmed than excited.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. An associate ran the free background check on herself and found that the criminal record of her ex-husbands daughter was tagged as her.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. My information was 12 years out of date and reported me as listed on several social sites, I've never visited.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. They post two different versions of their Terms & Conditions. The T&C from their home page link, has different wording than the one posted through their sitemap link.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Their privacy policy states they now have permission to telemarket you, even if you are on the do-not-call list.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Their privacy policy states "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i>even where a Member unsubscribes from all of our lists, we cannot guarantee that such Member will never receive another mailing from us</i>".<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">6. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"> Their privacy policy states that "<i>we must </i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">gather personal information from Members through our Registration Form. The Registration Form may or may not require submission of the following information: (a) e-mail address; (b) full name; (c) company name; (d) date of birth; (e) a Member-specified password; (f) mailing address; (g) credit card information; and (h) any and all information associated with the Searched Subject (such as name, address, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; line-height: 16px;">social security number</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i>)"</i><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They did not clarify if this social security number requirement is necessary when you search yourself. They would then have all your financial and identifying information for potential identity theft.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">7. More from the Privacy Policy: "</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i><b>Any personal information that you submit</b> at the Site remains your property. However, by submitting that information to us, <b>you grant to us the right to use your personal information</b></i>" . The even reference sharing your mobile phone number and email address with their partners.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">8. They have a long paragraph as to whom they are going to share your personal data with and take no responsibility for how those people then use your data.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9. They state: <i>"</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>You may not use any of our information as a factor in establishing an individual's eligibility for personal credit, insurance or assessing risks associated with existing consumer credit obligations." </i><br />
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You know people will.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10. The offer a free trial with a $2 authorization on your credit card, a state<i>:"</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><i>Authorizations are immediately voided and canceled upon signup.</i>" What if you don't sign up? $2 may seen like a so-what charge, however, $2 from hundreds of thousands of people sure adds up. You wouldn't take the time to challenge them for the refund, and they have added a protection clause for themselves in (one of) their T&C, stating you cannot support a class action lawsuit which might have the potential clout to stop the pilfering. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">note: On another blog a user posted: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">You can have a 7 day "trial" period if you join with a $50 membership fee!"</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">11. They now have a i-Phone app so you can conduct background check on the go. On another blog, one posted commented that this is great for the busy stalker.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><b>The bottom line:</b> <br />
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You can't prevent these type of companies from scraping the internet to gather public records on people, and then selling it. <br />
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You can be aware of what part you play in the picture when you sign up for these services.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">P<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">rivacy is a constant and growing concern. Online privacy even more so. </span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Simply, take time to read the T&C and Privacy policies of the websites you sign up for. Be aware enough to make every effort to stay away from supporting those sites that could be a problem for you in the future.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">*</span></span>Self Investment Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10225083845228383723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-27593864336741845692011-03-27T10:48:00.000-07:002011-03-27T10:48:32.620-07:00Delay is not the end.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"As you begin to move forward in the direction of your vision, you may encounter delays. Every delay is not a denial. It simply means that you are getting something that you're gonna need to go forward"</i> ~ Michael Bernard Beckwith</span>Self Investment Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10225083845228383723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-81107310613291955972011-02-28T13:59:00.000-08:002011-02-28T14:03:44.935-08:00Little conveniences can cost you - and potentially your privacy<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With busy schedules, many are looking for new ways to save time, and find bargains. A new service from ATT might offer you that, however, is in in your budget? What about privacy?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">AT&T launched a new service today that shoots you special offers over your mobile phone when you’re near a participating store or brand. You have to sign up for this service on their website. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, let's look at their Terms and Condition (which many people don't take the time to read):</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ShopAlerts by AT&T is a location-based marketing service. The Service provides customized messages to subscribers of AT&T Mobility from retailers when the subscribers are near a specific location. Subscribers opt-in to receive SMS messages from pre-selected retailers when they are within a defined geographical boundary. By electing to opt-in as a registered subscriber of the Service, <b>you consent to receiving, from time to time</b>, SMS text messages from Selected Advertisers subject to these Terms of Service and Use Agreement ("Terms"). <b>Please be aware that carrier rates for phone, data and text messaging will apply to all such communications</b> and you are responsible for any such charges. We encourage you to carefully read these Terms prior to completing your registration or using the Service.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Data <u>obtained from you</u> in connection with the Service may include your cell phone number, the name of your mobile carrier, and the date, time, <i>and content of any SMS or MMS text messages sent by or received by your mobile device</i>.</b> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you don't have an unlimited data plan, these messages could add up to more than the savings you are offered. Plus, it appears they will now read ALL text messages from your phone(?) </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before jumping to this or any newly offered "convenience" service, be sure to ready and understand the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Will you use this service? Share with us how it's working for you.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Comment below or click on the facebook icon to post on Facebook.<br />
</span>Self Investment Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10225083845228383723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-20396171789402556002011-02-23T09:51:00.000-08:002011-02-23T09:51:39.356-08:00Contest for Writers- WIN A WEEK AT THE PERFECT WRITING RETREAT<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3c2414; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6d0300; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;">CONTEST: WIN A WEEK AT THE PERFECT WRITING RETREAT.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>Located in Sonoma County's tranquil redwoods,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.thebungalowatoccidental.com/Gallery.html"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"The Bungalow at Occidental"</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>is the perfect place to get away and finish your writing project. Clicking the link below to win a six night/seven day stay, normally priced at about $1,200. Discount coupons for food and lodging will be sent to all entrants from our friends in Occidental (about an hour north of San Francisco).</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3c2414; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">This contest is sponsored by Red Room (redroom.com) the online community for writers.</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3c2414; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3c2414; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; line-height: 15px;"><a href="mailto:contest@redroom.com?subject=Bungalow%20at%20Occidental%20Contest%20Entry" onclick="onClickUnsafeLink(event);" style="color: #6d0300; cursor: default; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 14px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Click here by <strong>Friday, Feb 25th</strong> at 10:30 a.m. PST (GMT-0:800) to enter»</span></a></span></span></span></span>Self Investment Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10225083845228383723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-65405680841723148162011-02-19T11:20:00.001-08:002011-02-19T11:42:53.629-08:00The Value of Your Time<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj62FE61wLgZ7Hn92OLWNH5G_vWCyN958pVbj1QniH0xbiYTvk3-ApQ80dunYEby_bZ1RKNk0652OE95aWEsYr3X889gr9Xh-Yd8nPiiGoVWZO7UZqd8qj4XLDgsjnjfmP7zzYtIoaQmgJM/s1600-h/scale.jpg"><span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000000;"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249659350957633682" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj62FE61wLgZ7Hn92OLWNH5G_vWCyN958pVbj1QniH0xbiYTvk3-ApQ80dunYEby_bZ1RKNk0652OE95aWEsYr3X889gr9Xh-Yd8nPiiGoVWZO7UZqd8qj4XLDgsjnjfmP7zzYtIoaQmgJM/s200/scale.jpg" /></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="font-family:arial;">At a conference this year, I heard many self employed and small business owners lamenting how hard they were working, yet not gaining any new business growth or profit. In today’s business environment many emerging entrepreneurs mistakenly attempt to wear all the hats when running their business.<br /><br />Instead of hiring someone to conduct some of the work for them, they mistakenly believe that they are saving money by doing everything themselves. For every hour you spend during prime business growing hours working on tasks that are costing you (ie your website, your marketing copy, accounting) you are actually losing up to twice that in potential business growth. Many entrepreneurs lose sight of how much it actually costs them to wear all the hats.<br /><br />If your goal is an income of $100,000 in a year, as an example (for 8 hours a day, 50 weeks work and considering 2 weeks for standard vacation) your hourly work value is $50 per hour. So, if you could hire someone for $20 hour to manage your bookkeeping, and instead you do it yourself, it is now actually costing you $100 an hour.<br /><br />How? If you paid someone $20 from your $50 hour, you have a potential profit of $30 in that hour. If you do that job for yourself, you are now paying $50 for the hour (your hourly value), and since you are not producing any income during that time, you are losing another $50 of your potential income. Plus, many times it will take you twice as long to do the job that the bookkeeper can do because it is their expertise, and you may have a learning curve.<br /><br />Years ago, I heard a statement “there is no such thing as a free lunch. Everything has a cost against your bottom line”. Check it out for yourself and see if this is true.<br /><br />Someone was bragging recently that she got free software to do the graphics for her website, so she doesn’t need to hire a graphic artist anymore. However, she now has to take the time to learn the program, and learn how to make her graphics look as professional as if a professional did the work. All the while taking away from doing her own business and producing an income.<br /><br />If you believe you must do it all, then schedule any non-income producing tasks in your non-income hours instead of watching TV you will find more profit in your business.<br /><br />If you are wearing all the hats because you believe you must keep expenses down, energetically you are giving out the message that expenses are bad. People can feel that from you. Just remember, what is income to you, may be someone else’s expense. Since energy is reciprocal, what you are willing to give to others will return to you. Hiring others to do what they do best, and do it for you, opens the field of energy for people to pay you for your products and services. Focus on abundance for your business. The more abundant your business, the more you will see how expenses are taken care in the flow of abundance.<br /><br />I am a real nag about planning. When you write an effective business plan or a marketing plan, you are focused on results. You have a blueprint to follow which can be adjusted as you grow. When you focus on your business growth you will find more ways to grow your business. Some things you may not have seen before will suddenly be in your line of sight. A support person will show up, or a new client will be referred to you. Those daily miracles occur.<br /><br />I suggest that you spend your time wisely and realize the value of your time.<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXraydMtJdWlLWUP0s1TcWW0BNN7ZUWeB00J666P-nOKAbEKrObej2nK6vlbn3USgV_ljEOtoDgutdYmjvJrBOB4zPuKnuu1Nfiqa60ugpqmv_ui8UWQgcEouvGu_QuqDia_qEDVWiqMEX/s1600-h/scale.jpg"></a>***<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><to style="font-size:100%;color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><to><br /><div align="left"><br />To stay abreast of trends and technology advancements, Sumner Davenport continues to participate regularly in developer forums and expands her knowledge through training courses sponsored by large internet marketing companies, developer forums and the internet search giant, Google, as well as industry related events in her clients' areas of practice. By consistently monitoring trends, events and news, Sumner is better able to assist them in selecting the best venues for marketing their firms.<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a style="TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://twitter.com/SumnerDavenport">Follow Sumner on Twitter </a><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><a style="TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://on.fb.me/f0xoCi"><span style="font-size:100%;">Follow Sumner on Facebook </span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><a style="TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://linkd.in/h8sVt6"><span style="font-size:100%;">Follow Sumner on Linked In</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><script><br /></script></span></span></div><br /><div style="font-size:small;"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></div><br /><div style="font-size:small;"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></div><br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span>Sumner http://www.blogger.com/profile/01076851282689064035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-33038980603582988002011-02-16T11:03:00.001-08:002011-04-12T08:55:52.540-07:00QR codes or Scan tags – Using them? and how are they working for you?<span class="Apple-style-span">A<span class="Apple-style-span"> Quick Response (QR) code is a two-dimensional code that can be scanned by smartphone cameras to automatically pull up text, photos, videos, music and URLs. Scan tags from Microsoft are colorful versions of your custom scan code. These scan apps have been available since mid last year. Are you using them? And more importantly, what benefits are you seeing?<br />
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Smartphones have the capability to scan and read QR codes or Scan Tags with the click of a camera.<br />
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If you are listed on Google Places and Google Maps, Google has automatically generated a QR for you. Put this QR on your business card, brochures or in your print ad or poster and someone scanning it will land on a map for the location of your business.<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574368206229875522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHDcPJ6BScO3HDVukhat4O3JpOJ-cEkX9zaOWaxYZqzQ17Seu2O_Gs6Wgsiplln6Of1SiluZ7g9jRTshxEfdACp6ATbLoBcr4zKjUi4Ehru7jCHyn9o1JaO2ispGXEs2QVhpiOqezW4P6B/s200/Sumner_M_Davenport_website-tag.png" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 100px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 100px;" /><br />
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<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574368570807481298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8uXddkUUsDT9NmuMSvfislBuiA-paU7pQGxzKR_2Flt1BbepSRbatkBjGDa1MuiiCz56BmqzTfZuLpufK6KZnoOL-d9eoc0eqU2EZaKqNQua5QGLKJxSoovY_bxGgxhTdqdXhs5x_gqvn/s200/Stress+OUt+Book+purchase+page+QR.png" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 100px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 100px;" />I use both types. A colorful Scan Tag on my business card always raises questions People ask what it is, how it works and then more discussion about my services. A QR on a product flyer (one of my books) links directly to the purchase page. An associate uses her scan tag to link to a registration page for events, and a real estate agent uses his QR on his signs to link to web pages showing the details of his listings.<br />
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All you need is your computer to generate the QR codes or Scan Tags and then be creative on how you use them. You can create a QR or Scan Tag for simple text, a URL, an email message, an SMS or MMS, a phone number, or a location. (<a href="http://www.qr-barcodes.com/online-generator">http://www.qr-barcodes.com/online-generator</a>)<br />
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With a Microsoft Scan Tag you can get reports of how many times your tag was scanned and from what geographic area. (<a href="http://tag.microsoft.com/">http://tag.microsoft.com/</a>)<br />
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</span></div>Sumner http://www.blogger.com/profile/01076851282689064035noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8689180032587851575.post-56531952493150893612011-02-14T12:54:00.000-08:002011-02-14T12:54:12.033-08:00Keeping it Legal = Licenses & Permits<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A significant task for new business is assuring that the business is properly complying with the extensive tax and information filing requirements imposed by various governmental agencies. Stiff penalties are commonly assessed if the required forms and information are not properly prepared and filed. Many types of businesses need to obtain some type of business or professional/occupational license or permit from a state government. Depending on your business, you may need to be licensed at the federal, state and/or local level. Beyond a basic operating license, you may need specific permits. Regulations vary by industry, state and locality, so it's very important to understand the licensing rules where your business is located.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The following are common types of local permits and licenses.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>> Business Licenses / Tax Permits</b> - from your city or county clerk or revenue department. Many jurisdictions require a trader's license or tax certificate in order to operate.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>> Building Permit -</b> from your city or county building and planning department. This permit is generally required if you are constructing or modifying your place of business.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>> Health Permit -</b> from your city or county health department.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>> Occupational Permit </b>- from your city or county building and planning development department. This permit is required for home-based business in some jurisdictions.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>> Signage Permit -</b> from your city or county building and planning department. Some jurisdictions require a permit before you can erect a sign for your business.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>> Alarm Permit</b> - from you city or county police or fire department. If you have installed a burglar or fire alarm, you will likely need an alarm permit.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>> Zoning Permit</b> - from your city or county building and planning department. This permit is generally required if you are developing land for specific commercial use.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Depending on the nature of your business, you may need other types of licenses specific to your business. Work closely with your Attorney and Accountant to insure that you are compliant with the current laws for your business, industry and location. You can find specific information for your state from the <a href="http://www.sba.gov/content/obtaining-business-licenses-permits">Small Business Administration</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>> Sellers Permit</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A seller's permit from the State Board of Equalization is required if your business operations involve the sale of retail or wholesale tangible property. This also includes if you sell products on the internet. The requirement to obtain a seller's permit applies to individuals as well as corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies. Both wholesalers and retailers must apply for a permit. If you do not hold a seller's permit and you are planning to make sales during temporary periods, such as Christmas tree sales and rummage sales, you must apply for a temporary seller's permit. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are many activities that may qualify the need for a sellers permit in your state. Due to the various rules that apply, you should contact the Board's Information Center or contact your nearest Board office to <a href="http://www.boe.ca.gov/sutax/faqseller.htm">determine if you must obtain a permit</a>.</span><br />
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