by Allan Katz

My friend and colleague, Allan Katz has just launched his new book Addictive Entrepreneurship. I have had the joy and privilege of reading this book.

Allan has been an entrepreneur for 30+ years. If anyone knows the ups and downs of the business, it’s him! What makes Allan’s new book so unique is the 13 character traits he discusses. Allan believes that successful entrepreneurs need to have particular character traits.

For example, Allan says the first character traits all entrepreneurs need is perseverance. He says, “To persevere is to never give up hope. So, making the decision to own your own business or sell your own product is the beginning of entrepreneurial perseverance. You have the hope that your business/product will bring the desired outcome—working for yourself. But, in order to achieve this, you persevere through sweat and tears, challenges and successes. Excitement and hope keep guiding you toward your goal.”

Addictive Entrepreneurship contains 12 more traits, each with personal life experience from Allan Katz. When you buy Addictive Entrepreneurship Allan is offering $393 of free life changing products for the purchase of his book. Some of the items included are: “Publicity Secrets Revealed“ by Sally Shields, “How to Simplify Your Life One Day At A Time” by Mark Joyner, “70 Practical Marketing Tips for Solo Entrepreneurs” by Terri Zwierzynski and much more!

Buy Addictive Entrepreneurship today and gain more control over your work and life. After you read it, let me know what you think!

I was blessed at that time with clients that had also been affected by cancer in one way or another.  They were very patient with me.  But, today I’d like to dedicate this blog post today to the people who are experiencing breast cancer.  I have some tips that might help with the process.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This month is usually devoted to teaching women the importance in early detection of breast cancer. But what about the women who are going through breast cancer treatment? This article is for them.Either having a family member who has been diagnosed or knowing a friend with it, many of us have been affected by breast cancer. I was affected personally. I was diagnosed with breast cancer 3 days after my 35th birthday. I had three young children ages 9, 6 and 3. My husband and I were devastated. We were both so afraid he was going to have to raise the children on his own.

Slowly, we started realizing we were going to make it through this challenge. We had many doctors, nurses and friends who supported and taught us. Many people refer to going through breast cancer as a “journey.” Below are tips I learned during my journey that I hope will help other breast cancer patients.

Replace Fear with Knowledge
As soon as my husband and I got over the shock of the diagnosis, we started reading. I learned a lot about the type of breast cancer I had and the best ways to treat it. I also learned what chemotherapy and radiation would be like. Ask your doctor what books he would suggest. Only read credible information. If you are an internet guru, don’t believe everything you find on the internet. Only go to reliable sites. Here is one that I found very useful: http://www.breastcancer.org/. Read all that you can so you know what will be happening to you. This knowledge will help replace your fear.

Get a Pedicure
If you are having a mastectomy, get a pedicure before you go in for your surgery. Pay the bit extra and get a fun design put on your big toe–something feminine. The day before my bilateral mastectomy I got a pedicure. After my surgery, having my toenails done helped me to feel feminine. When you lose such a big part of your femininity in surgery, it’s nice to have something on you that is unique to being a woman. You can’t have nail polish on your fingernails when you have surgery, but you can on your toes.

Say Yes
If someone wants to bring you dinner while you are having chemotherapy, say yes. If someone offers to go grocery shopping, do your laundry, clean your house or watch your children, say YES! Going through chemotherapy or radiation drains the energy from your body. I learned that you have to let other people take over the daily chores so that your body can heal. Whenever someone offers to do something for you, take them up on it. Later when you are done healing, you can pay it back by helping someone else in need.

Find a Support Group
A support group can be found in many ways. If you have a cancer resource center in your treatment facility, they will have a list of support groups you can join. Those support groups meet once or twice a month. There are also online support groups. Here is an example of one NetworkofStrength.org.. I found my support group at my chemotherapy sessions. I was able to make friends that came on the same day as I did. We talked about our cancer, our families, our fears, our hopes and much more. Some patients are willing to talk about their cancer and some are not. I found it to be a healing process for me to talk to other people that knew exactly what I was going through. My husband also found support through the other spouses at chemotherapy.

Only Talk When You Feel Like Talking
Only talk about your cancer when you feel like talking about it. Some days you may feel that talking about it is what you need. Other days you may just want to try and live a normal life without being “the woman with breast cancer.” Dr. Linda Miles, a nationally recognized marriage and family therapist, recently wrote an article for Amoena Life Magazine on breast cancer entitled Tell the Truth with Love. Dr. Miles says, “Many times friends have no idea of what to say to a woman with breast cancer. [One breast cancer patient] learned how to help good friends refrain from the lame by bringing up her condition in an honest and straight-forward way when she needed to talk and let them know when she did not feel like discussing cancer. She simply told them, ‘I appreciate your concern but it would not help me to talk about it right now.’ She then took the initiative to change the topic to avoid an awkward silence.”

Be Optimistic
It is hard to tell someone who is going through cancer to be optimistic. Your life has changed profoundly due to the diagnosis of cancer. However, I found that I needed to be as positive as possible in order to heal. There were days during chemotherapy where I had to crawl on the floor to get to the bathroom. Then the next time I woke up, I was able to walk to the bathroom. I found this as a positive thing. Sometimes keeping down food is positive, or being able to read a book to your child is a positive act. Surround yourself with positive people. You may find, as I did, you have to rid yourself of your negative friends for a while.

It’s Ok to Have a Bad Day
No matter how positive you are, there will be bad days and that’s ok. You need a day where you can cry–crying promotes healing as well. Going through chemotherapy and radiation is hard, and it’s ok to admit that. A wise nurse (who was also a breast cancer survivor) told me to give myself a time of the day where I could cry and just feel bad. Then she said, “After you have your cry and acknowledgment of what you’re dealing with, then put on your big girl panties and go on with your life.” In the same article for Amoena Life Magazine, Dr. Linda Milesgives an example of how your family can help when you have a bad day. “[One] family developed a Best-Bad-Day Tradition. [The father] started this when [mom] was having some bad days during chemo. He helped the children do special things for [mom] on those days. One child made placemats and another one decorated a card. They maintain this tradition to support one another through bad days. It is a powerful model for children to learn compassion and altruism.”

I hope this blog post has helped those that are going through cancer and their families.  If you have any other tips, please post them!  Also, if you’d like to share your journey with breast cancer (either as a participant or family member) I would love to hear it!

Not necessarily. Research shows that a potential customer will come to your website up to seven times before they actually buy your product. Colors and navigation in this situation do matter. The tips below show how important website design really is.

Effective Website Design Tips to Improve Your Online Sales
The first thing to keep in mind is to have a fast loading website. One fact I found being in telecommunications is that many folks only still have 56K internet access at their homes. The majority of them feel they have DSL or T1 service at work and only need 56K service at home for checking emails and light surfing. The next is to steer your customers to your order page. Do not place a bunch of useless links nor clutter your site with unnecessary text. Give your visitor the needed information to make an educated decision to purchase your product and/or service and steer them to your order page. You also need to offer an opt-in email to capture names and emails of your visitors. This enables you to follow up numerous times and get them to return at a future date to place their order. This is the cheapest and yet the most effective way to advertise!
- Bruce Galle getting started online expert

3 Tips to Make Your Website Sell
I’ve seen some pretty awful websites. Color combinations that made the text impossible to read; navigation buttons that change from page to page; pages that start talking or play music as soon as you open them (with no way to adjust the volume or turn it off!); and pages crammed full of tiny text (and ads) in wall-to-wall boxes — these are among my pet peeves! My three tips for solo and small business owners: 1) If you are selling a product, your page should do just that…and ONLY that. Don’t fill up your page with links that take visitors away from the one action you want them to take: to buy your product. 2) For non-sales pages on your site, keep your navigation simple and consistent, and use white space liberally. You don’t need to fill every available spot with an ad or link! 3) Buy, and read, the book, “Don’t Make Me Think,” by Steve Krug. It’s a fun, lighthearted book with seriously great website layout advice. You’ll never look at your website the same way again! – Terri Zwierzynski self employment expert

Design the Correct Website and Increase Your Success
Website design comes in many shapes, colors and forms. You should plan your type of design according to the website, theme and outcome you wish to achieve from your visitors. Some sites easy navigation is most important, in others the overall look. But what is a must to creating or designing a site requires an understanding of website design. Even better than understanding it is to do it yourself! Learning how to create successful websites without spending hundreds or thousands of dollars will put you ahead of most competition. It really isn’t that hard when you use new web 2.0 easy to follow courses based on video. You can do it! Why make it harder than it is.
- Kenth Nasstrom affiliate marketing expert

Get Inside the Head and Heart of Your Visitors
The best website designs get inside the head and heart of the ideal visitor. Work with your website design company to create a profile of your perfect customer. Describe who that person is – their gender, education, socio-economic level, interests, problems, etc. Once you capture the essence of this person, you will gain a sense of what they want and how you can engage them in your message. Pictures and testimonials that show benefits received through your products and/or services are likely to be particularly effective. This is where a video or flash presentation can be extremely advantageous.
- Ruth Kuttler web design expert

Has your website design played a role in attracting customers?  What have you done to improve your website?  Any tips?

The keyword in running your own business is “delegate.”  My friend and colleague Marnie Pehrson, owner and creator of IdeaMarketers.com, has developed a program to help experts like you delegate your marketing.  Marnie’s program is called the “Expert 360 Program.”  I have worked with Marnie for six years and highly recommend this program. 

During the month of September, 2009, Marnie is running a special promotion on the Expert 360 Program.  If you mention my name, you will get 50% off your first month as an expert!  Wow!  What a deal!  But, you have to sign up before October 1, 2009 to take advantage of this special deal.  Just say Luanna sent you, and enjoy the extra time you will have to put into your business.  Expert 360 Program

Here are fours tips from people who have successfully integrated the law of attraction into their marketing campaigns.

Seek Clarity First
The most important thing to remember is to get clear on who you are and why you want what you want. Wallace D. Wattles warned against having only a ‘vague and misty notion’ of your goals. If you can see clearly, then you can move with certainty. You won’t have to rely on others to tell you what to do. You won’t need to look outside yourself to know what fits, what clicks, what energizes you and makes you pop out of bed in the morning. Once you have a firm understanding of what motivates your life you can easily and effortlessly connect with the right people, at the right time, and in the right ways.
- Phillip Davis branding and naming expert

Don’t Forget the ACTION in Attraction!
Don’t forget that ACTION is a part of the word “Attraction”. We can create happy thoughts, work up positive feelings, envision the ideal customer, and even create vision boards for high sales figures, swelling bank accounts, and all the things that we will buy with our profits. But without adding the actual action to the overall process, we’re really doing nothing more than day dreaming. For me, the action step isn’t about “forcing” what I’ve attracted but it is my way of saying to the universe, “I am expecting to receive what I have asked for and I am proving that by taking these steps to prepare myself to receive it.” As I write my ad copy, create my email messages, and follow-up with prospects, I do it with a sincere gratitude and expectation that the steps I am taking are working to manifest the intentions I have set in my mind.
- Brian Rooney autoresponders expert

Dare to Own Your Special Gifts – Now THAT’s Attraction!
A big part of Attraction Marketing is daring to own your own special gifts. You do have them. You have a unique style of bringing your work into the world. There are people out there who can only hear what they need to hear from you! Attraction Marketing is not about backing down and being modest. It’s about stepping into your greatness because when you step into this powerful place–opportunities, synchronicities, and all sorts of help truly show up. And so do the clients, media opportunities and speaking events! People want to work with confident and successful people. This has been the hardest area for me in the evolution of my business and I know it’s the one of the biggest growth areas for my clients. Owning your greatness so that you can create the best experience for others! As Marianne Williamson is often quoted, ‘It is not our darkness that frightens us, but our brilliance.’ Get your free Business Attraction Success Kit
- Laura West attraction marketing expert

Develop a Prosperity Mindset to Attract Business
Unsuccessful people only focus on price and the immediate expense they have to incur to take the next step. They make decisions based on whether or not they can afford things. Successful people think differently. They focus on the reward of taking the next step! They keep in mind what they want to achieve in life and business, and look for opportunities to invest in themselves or to get the resources they need to reach their goal. When considering new investments they ask questions like: ‘If I make this investment, what kind of return can I expect and how fast?’ and ‘What will it cost me not to make this investment?’ That’s Prosperity Mindset!”
- Adam Urbanski information marketing expert

What do you think?  Do you believe in the law of attraction?  Do you think it can help with your marketing?

Using video to build your brand and boost your business – whether on the now ubiquitous YouTube or on your own website – actually attracts new customers and accelerates the sales process.  There are many compelling arguments for adding online video to your marketing mix, but none more important than the simple fact that video brings you closer to your customers and closer to the sale!

Adding online video to your marketing efforts also leverages your time and increases your online presence, 24/7.  Your video can be promoting you and working for you even while you sleep.  However, to make the most of your video, you’ve got to get it “out there,” and blast it to the widest possible audience.

My friend and colleague Lou Bortone is an online video branding specialist who has developed a complete, step-by-step process for maximizing your video distribution.  You can get a look at his “Video Traffic Blast” system here:  http://tinyurl.com/o8de44

Everyone who makes a video hopes it will go “viral” and spread like wildfire, but that rarely happens by accident.  You’ve got to make your video easy to share, and make sure it’s optimized to get the most mileage. 

Fortunately, video sites like YouTube and Blip.tv make it simple to share your video to other social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.  Once your video is uploaded to Blip.tv, for example, you can cross post to your blog or to a number of social networking sites with one click.  You can also use TubeMogul.com to blast your video to many sites at once.  Best of all, all of the video hosting sites are free to use.

You can learn much more and find out about the new “Video Traffic Blast” system by visiting the website here: http://tinyurl.com/o8de44

See you online!

Many new business owners are very excited when they first make the leap to their own business. The problem is the excitement only lasts so long. To really be successful in a business, strategy has to come into play. Without strategy or a business plan, many new businesses fail in the first six months. Do not worry. Just follow the tips from the successful entrepreneurs below to help you develop a business strategy that meets your expectations.

Find a Mentor
“Would you open your own restaurant without ever eating in one, or without trying your hand at working in one? Of course not. Why, then, do so many people embark on a new business without talking to even one successful businessperson in their field? I encourage you to find – and meet – at least a couple of people who already have the kind of business you’d like to create. Find out how they got started. What’s working well for them and what’s not. Ask them what they wished they had done differently. Ask what suggestions they’d like to give you. In short, pick their brains! With this information in hand, it’ll be much easier to develop strategies for your own business. You’ll have the beginnings of a business model – and maybe even a mentor.” – Kathy Gulrich, Real Estate Expert

Developing a Plan for Your Business
“I’m a huge fan of planning and processes. Start by creating a goal plan for your business each year. Set goals that seem slightly out of reach and then find ways to achieve them. You might be surprised by what happens when you put your goals in writing. If you have employees or plan to, develop an operations manual. Countless hours of training time can be saved, not to mention the fact that you can minimize the number of mistakes made. Understand your target audience! Anyone who can fog a mirror is not a target audience for a business! Do you want to target women with children who are 30 to 45? Do you want to reach single dads aged 40+? Do you want to help teenagers who are struggling with math? Once you identify your audience, every action you take should be with your audience in mind.” – Stephanie Chandler, Entrepreneur Expert

SOMEDAY Is Not a Day of the Week!
“Having mentored many new business owners over my 20+ years in Direct Sales management, I would say that one key is to write down a date in your planner to get things done. One great technique is to put all the ideas or “to do” items on single note cards, paper pieces or sticky notes and then arrange them in the order you need to accomplish them. Next transfer these to a planner or calendar to give yourself a roadmap and some accountability. Even when things get bumped back a bit you will still be working on the details (which there are about a zillion of) in a logical order.”- Debbye Cannon, Shortcuts Expert

Follow Your Instincts and Don’t Be Afraid to Fail
“Some of the earliest mistakes I made in business were due to not following my instincts. I love to read business and personal development books. I enjoy getting ideas from other successful business people. But each of us is in business because we had an idea that inspired and motivated us. (If that’s not why you’re in business for yourself, stop right now and find a business that will inspire and motivate you). That same motivation and inspiration can serve to guide us through each step in our business when we learn to trust and follow it. Then just go for it! One of the most common pieces of advice I give people starting out in business is, “Get out there and fail!” Sometimes, we learn more from our failures than we do from our successes. “Failure” has become a dirty word as people expect to launch a business and become the next overnight success story. (HINT: Most overnight success stories are 10 to 20 years in the making. We just don’t find out about them until they become successful!). When people meet me today, they assume that the success they see is the success I have always had. They don’t see the long nights of lost sleep, the mistakes along the way, the “lean times” or the times when I wondered if I was on the right track. Do what you love. Follow your instincts. Don’t be afraid to fail. And learn from every experience along the way.” – Brian Rooney, Autoresponders Expert

Design a Strategic Theme
“When designing a strategy for your business, I highly recommend that business owners design a “strategic theme,” which can serve as an umbrella for business direction. As an example, a strategic theme may be to use the power of social capital as foundation for driving the business forward. I also believe in using the Strengths Finder Profile by Buckingham and Clifton, because it will quickly reveal the strengths of the team and who can then drive each aspect of the strategic theme. Business strategies are only as effective as the people who implement them. When the right person is put on the right task, implementation becomes a breeze.” – Bea Fields, Leadership Expert

Start with Clear Vision
“When you start a business, the first order of business is to get clear on who you are and what you and your business are all about. Most everything else is a matter of tactics and tools that can be learned. When you begin with clarity of vision and purpose, making decisions is easy because you know where you are going. Get clear, then move from that solid core and you will bypass a massive amount of struggle and effort that most business owners experience.” – Ronda Del Boccio, Storytelling Expert

Starting a new business can be exciting. However, as taught by the experts above, developing a business plan is a big key for success. What advice would you give in developing a business plan?

How can you avoid this problem? What is the key to being a successful small business owner? Hiring a reliable Virtual Assistant. Virtual assistance can give you that one precious gift you most desperately need–time. A Virtual Assistant can handle all the time consuming tasks so that you can actually enjoy your business.

Make a list of the things you need to do to run a successful business. Then, put a check by the things that you can delegate to someone else. For example, do you enjoy writing articles, or E-books? But, you don’t have time to promote them and write them? Then hire a Virtual Assistant to help you submit your articles to web sites, post blogs, create a newsletter, and update your web site so you can actually write.

You may ask, “Is hiring a Virtual Assistant cost effective?” Well, how much is your time worth? When you can delegate mundane tasks needed to keep your business running, then you will have more time to put into your business–thus, being able to increase your revenue.

So, give it a try. If necessary hire a Virtual Assistant on a trial basis to see if it works for you. You’ll be surprised at how much your business will actually grow.

What are your concerns about hiring a virtual assistant?

I’ve tweeted and Facebooked about my dilemma and haven’t found any answers that worked for me.  So, I decided to put the topic to the experts on Ideamarketers to find the answer.  The question I asked was, “How can you be productive with your kids’ home in the summer?”  These wonderful expert business women came up with some great ideas.  I wrote an article from their tips called, “Tips for the Work at Home Mom” (click here to read entire article).

Today I want to share my tip with you.  I have found that if I tell my children that I need to work until a certain time, and if they’ve let me be productive, we will do something fun together. It could be as simple as playing a board game, running through the sprinkler, watching a TV show together, making s’mores in the microwave, watching them play video games, going to the library or going to the pool.

Let’s all share our tips.  We all have different aged children–so share what works for you at the age your children are.  How do you get work done with your children home during the summer?

I’m a wife, a mother of three, and a WAHM virtual assistant.  I can definitely multi-task!  I hope to make my blog a place where I can share information as a work at home business woman and a mom.

What do you think makes a good blog?  Any advice is welcome and needed