Small Business Success Strategies

How to Turn a Negative Experience Into a Positive Way to Make a Living

In my last article, Profit from Experience: The Key to Your Right Livelihood May Be Right in Your Own Backyard (ChangingCourse.com/archives/issue136.html), I talked about the fact that all three of the businesses I’ve started were born from my own personal experiences. In this second of a two-part series we’ll look at how even negative experiences can be the catalyst to a positive career change.

You know the old expression, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. You’re about to meet seven people who took adversity, bad habits, betrayal, and loss and turned these sour experiences into satisfying livelihoods. The experiences and approaches to generating income vary. Some wrote about their experience, some created products, some now teach or counsel others on how to avoid or handle the same problem they once lived through, some created recipes, and one even syndicated his humorous take on a bad situation.

Read Valerie's entire article How to Turn a Negative Experience Into a Positive Way to Make a Living

Valerie Young, our official Career Change Expert

How to Use Video to Increase Sales

"A picture is worth a thousand words" is an old and familiar saying. Now that's truer than ever. Online video has exploded and it's given you an unprecedented opportunity to quickly get you, your brand and your business more exposure, new leads and new sales.

Some small business owners hesitate to get on the video bandwagon because they feel uncomfortable in front of the camera, they fear the technology involved or they don't want their business videos broadcast on You Tube. Not to worry.

You don't have to be the on-camera person. You can let someone else who is comfortable talk about your business.

Read Janis' entire article How to Use Video to Increase Sales

Janis Pettit, our official Small Business Strategy Coach Expert

Suspending Your Disbelief Opens Doors to What You Want

Every time you try something for the first time – launch a coaching business, start a blog, speak publicly — you enter into the great unknown. For adventure seekers, the unknown is a double dog dare. For innovators, it’s where the spark of brilliance always strikes. For the rest of us, it can be absolutely terrifying territory… but it doesn’t have to be.

Everyone has fear. Some “feel the fear and do it anyway”. They consciously suspend their disbelief that they can do it, long enough for the combination of their trust, persistence and subtle energies to coalesce dreams into reality. Our favorite stories are about regular people persevering to reach their destiny despite all odds. Without super powers, people do this every day.

Read Rhonda's entire article Suspending Your Disbelief Opens Doors to What You Want

Rhonda Hess, our official Coaching Business Success Expert

Working at Home: Successfully Merging Your Work and Home Life

Believe it or not, there are many people who work from their home for a little while and then quit to go back to working outside the home. The reasons are many, but a lot of people find it difficult to mange both their home and work from the same place. If you have just recently begun working at home and you want to prevent this from happening to you, you need to sit down and figure out how you can successfully merge your work and your home life.

Creating a workspace that is away from the center of activity in your home is the first step you should take. If you were to ask a hundred people who gave up on working at home, you would find that many of them did not have a separate workspace. The area should be quiet and show allow you the comfort you need to get the job done. If you try to work at the kitchen table, you're only going to get frustrated with yourself, your job, and your family.

Read Stone's entire article Working at Home: Successfully Merging Your Work and Home Life

Stone Evans, our official Home Business Expert

Social Networking For Business: It's Not About Numbers

As internet marketers transition to the fast changing world of social marketing, entrepreneurs are learning that hard-sell and relentless pressure aren't welcome. The generation gap becomes a profit-crushing divide as "old-school" methods fail to fit in the sleek world of sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In.

In the world of social networking, the hard sell approach is as welcome as "granny panties" in Victoria's Secret. You certainly stand out when you take the old-school approach with social networking . . . but it's not standing out in a good way. You stand out as being outdated and unable to navigate the streams of Web 2.0.

The primary difference you'll encounter has to do with numbers, but not in the way you may think.

Read Nancy's entire article Social Networking For Business: It's Not About Numbers

Nancy Marmolejo, our official Visibility Expert

Organic Naming -- Creating Company and Product Names with Deep Roots

When Cingular decided to create a cellular phone for young children, they needed a name that would resonate with both them and their parents. The result was Firefly – a name that not only fits the product (it lights up when in use) but also one that has deep meaning. Many parents can fondly recall summer nights spent chasing the elusive lights as they danced across a fresh cut lawn or meadow.

When a technology company needed a name for their new PDA a few years ago, they could have used Pocket Link (the code name for the device while it was in development). Instead they went with a much more appetizing name… The Blackberry.

When United Parcel Service wanted to instill a deeper sense of their brand identity, they simply turned to their earthy corporate color . . . "What can Brown do for you?" Verizon named their newest phone Chocolate. And the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment shares its name with a friendly, wiggly little worm . . . Caterpillar.

Read Phil's entire article Organic Naming -- Creating Company and Product Names with Deep Roots

Phil Davis, our official Branding and Naming Expert

What’s for dinner?

Why do they always ask this?

Have you ever wondered why your family comes hovering around late in the afternoon asking, “What’s for dinner?” You dread hearing it, right? It’s not as though they are deciding whether or not to eat tonight. In fact, they will all probably show up sooner or later wanting you to provide some sustenance.

We all know it isn’t because they are anxious to help you prepare your gourmet feast. Perhaps they just want to remind you that they’d like to eat, AGAIN! My reply to my husband’s “What’s for dinner?” question used to be “I don’t know.” In fact, he heard it so often he began to reply, “Oh, that’s my favorite!” So I started answering, “It’s your favorite tonight!”

Read Debbye's entire article What’s for dinner?

Debbye Cannon, our official BusinessMom Mentor Expert

How To Make Your Site RSS User-Friendly

Despite all the hype and fuss surrounding RSS recently, for the majority of mainstream Internet users, RSS still remains a mysterious orange button sitting on your web site. They are totally unaware of this new method of syndicating information on the web.

This is not necessarily bad news!

For many Internet users are enjoying the benefits of RSS while remaining totally clueless as to its function or how it works. Programs like 'MyYahoo' and the RSS empowered Firefox Browser are letting surfers access RSS and enjoy its major benefits without having any or no knowledge of it.

In the very near future when Microsoft introduces its new RSS powered Longhorn Browser and operating system - this situation will hopefully continue. Internet users should be able to enjoy all the benefits of RSS without having to know what it is!

Read Tom's entire article How To Make Your Site RSS User-Friendly

Tom Hoskins, our official Online Fax Expert

Simplified Online Visibility for Your Service-Based Business

There is a lot of advice floating around about how you should market your business online. You can make yourself crazy trying to keep up with all the websites, forums, social media networks, blogs, technologies and strategies that abound.

Trying to do it all is like throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. This strategy is not only exhausting, it is largely ineffective. Instead, develop an online visibility plan that is clear and focused. Not only will you quickly see results, but you will save yourself countless hours of time and frustration. Following are some steps to get you started.

1. Have a Purpose

You can call it your mission statement, your unique value proposition or even your business plan, but whatever it is for you, it must be defined.

Read Stephanie's entire article Simplified Online Visibility for Your Service-Based Business

Stephanie Chandler, our official Small Business Growth Expert

Changing Careers? How to Get Around the 3 Major Mental Roadblocks to Success

A part of you can't wait to dive into your new career -- but you're also smart enough to know that you can expect a few bumps along the road to success. By far, the biggest roadblocks exist between your own two ears!

Let's take a look at three common mental roadblocks and learn how to overcome them.

ROADBLOCK No. 1: Wishful Thinking

How many times have you wished you'd hit the lottery? Now, how many times have you actually won the lottery? Far too many people spend far too much time wishing when they should be dreaming.

Read Valerie's entire article Changing Careers? How to Get Around the 3 Major Mental Roadblocks to Success

Valerie Young, our official Career Change Expert