Make 2009 Your Best Year Ever - Take a Good Hard Look Behind You

It’s not uncommon for this time of year to focus on goal setting and strategy implementation for the beginning of the next year. This article by Rich Schefren touches on the process of how to come up with those items. I was amused by his stating he has a list of 62 items to incorporate into his "New Year’s list. I too, have numerous things to accomplish so the key is at the end of his article…. be sure and schedule the items in. As with many "resolutions" there can be a tendency to come out of the shoot, full of enthusiasm, only to tucker out after a few months - so be realistic with your time and pace yourself. Example: I use the first few months to focus primarily on my business goals, and then add my "personal" goals during the second quarter….and continue to add thereafter.

(Article by Rich Schefren of Early To Rise )
I discovered long ago that if I wanted to continually improve my company and my own performance I need to leverage my past experience for all it’s worth. Stated more simply - to make 2009 the best it can be, you need to continue reading »

How Can I Be Sure It’s Not a Scam?

There are some home business companies that claim you can achieve "instant success". While some people may experience "success" pretty quickly, the majority does not and the ads are full of hype. (This does not mean it’s a scam though - just full of hype!)

The challenge comes in looking beyond that and truly performing your due diligence. One secret is to start with finding a business that fits your personality. Then you will have more intuitive type questions to ask. Be sure to check out the primary business, continue reading »

Entrepreneurship Has Gone Mainstream

Here’s an article I recently read from Zach Field, the Coeditor of The Edge Newsletter from CarbonCopy Pro.

According to Tim Petersen, managing director of the Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Michigan Business School, "Entrepreneurship has gone mainstream, and that’s a trend we expect to continue."

Consider just the past few months, despite the recession and crash of global markets, the entrepreneurial rate in the U.S. is 11.7 percent according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. That means nearly 12 percent of the U.S. adult population is involved in the start-up of a company, or a business that’s less than 4 years old. Compare that to 1999, when the rate was 8.4 percent. Elsewhere in the world, Mexico showed the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity, at continue reading »

4 Tips to Teaching Kids How to Manage Money

I grew up in a pretty conservative household when it came to saving and spending money. Guess that’s why I started teaching my daughter, Mikaila, when she was young (& the other kids in my life) to be responsible with their money early on. By the way, she’s the baby and just turned 21 today! Happy Birthday kiddo!

I believe in giving children an allowance for two reasons. One, it instills in them a sense of pride completing a responsibility and receiving something tangible for their efforts. But secondarily (& most important I think), is to teach them how to manage money early on.

I gave the kids 4 "piggy banks" when they were about 4 years old and explained continue reading »

The Bad Credit Hotel - An Interactive Game

The Department of Treasury and the Ad Council has recently created a campaign targeted to 18-24 year olds, to introduce them to "debt management and credit ". They’ve developed an interactive game by the name of "The Bad Credit Hotel ". I played it last night and there is some good information provided. The fact that it is interactive makes it more interesting; particularly for the age group they’re trying to reach.

A statement they sent to me said, "According to a study conducted by Sallie Mae, more than 50 percent of college students accumulate more than $5,000 in credit card debt while in school. Additionally, Capital One reported that only 10 percent of high schools in America teach financial management and continue reading »

I Know Nothing About Marketing and Lead Generation!

Once you begin your online marketing business it’s not long before all the excitement of the products is replaced by mild panic. I can say this from my own experience! I’m talking about the kind of mild panic that goes along with continue reading »

Women Against Sarah Palin

I normally don’t share my political views publicly. But have you noticed since the election is so close, the mudslinging is getting worse? I try to ignore all of that and get to the issues , and I’ve got to tell you Palin scares the hell out of me. I’m not the only one either. There is a website, continue reading »

Life Strategies for Women

I’ve had fun following the website for The P3 Group (Power, Passion & Purpose) as they cover a huge variety of topics. Most of them are specific to women (but guys you won’t be "booted off"). They cover things such as continue reading »

How to Be on Top of Everything (By Michael Masterson)

I came across this article and thought it so worthwhile I’m including it as my post today. Let me know your thoughts, leave a comment.

Since January, I’ve been writing a series of essays in ETR intended to give you tools to help you "master plan" your life. As you put this master plan into action, you will find that you will be able to accomplish more than you ever have before. Much more.

People will notice how much you’re getting done. And, as a result, some of them will come to you for help. Or advice. Or simply to give you more work because you have become your company’s go-to person.

This is all good and fine. It gives you more power. And more options. And more opportunities to advance in your career. But unless you have a system for managing all that extra work, you will soon be overwhelmed. And if you become overwhelmed, the happy movie you have been making about yourself in your head will turn into a horror story. People will be disappointed in you. Then angry at you. Before you know it, they’ll be planning to get rid of you.

You don’t want that. You want to be in charge of how much work you do. And you want to keep track of that work as well as all the work you delegate to other people. Keep in mind that the higher up you go in your business, the more delegating you’ll be doing.
As you get busier, you want to get better too. In particular, you want to:

• Be prepared for all the meetings you go to.

• Meet all your deadlines.

• Answer all the questions you’ve agreed to answer.

continue reading »