May 23

Over $1000 in Cash and Prizes

In honor of my one year anniversary as a small business owner, I am having a Client Appreciation event!  To thank those who have utilized my services and encourage others to do the same, I am giving away over $1000 in cash and prizes!!

winprizes

To prepare to be eligible for the GRAND prize, you’ll want to like my Facebook Page, follow me on Twitter and connect with me on LinkedIn as I will be conducting a social media scavenger hunt!  Here’s what you could win:

GRAND PRIZE: Two (2) participants in the social media scavenger hunt will win a prize valued at $150 each.  This prize consists of a $75 Visa gift card PLUS a $75 gift certificate from Timely Manner Consulting.  Winners will be one existing client and one new client who completes the scavenger hunt first.  Participants need not be present at the Open House to win.  The hunt begins 5/28/13; requirements will posted to this blog on that date.  Gift certificates are good toward any service(s) offered by Timely Manner Consulting, including but not limited to web design, social media coaching and administrative consulting.

FIRST PRIZE: All attendees at the Open House will be entered into a drawing for $75 gift certificates from Timely Manner Consulting.  Drawing will be held on June 8th at 5 PM; two (2) attendees will win.  Gift certificates are good toward any service(s) offered by Timely Manner Consulting, including but not limited to web design, social media coaching and administrative consulting.

CONSOLATION PRIZE: All participants in the scavenger hunt and attendees at the Open House will receive valuable coupons toward any service(s) offered by Timely Manner Consulting, including but not limited to web design, social media coaching and administrative consulting.

Please note: Invitations to the Open House event have been sent to the e-mail addresses of all my existing clients.  If you did not receive an invitation and are an existing client of Timely Manner Consulting, please check your spam folder!

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May 01

And the winner is…

winner-is

Thank you to everyone who entered the drawing
after hearing me on Million $ Party Girl Talk Radio!

I’m pleased to announce that Sabrina Umstead Smith was selected using Random.org to receive the FREE Jump Start Your Web Presence package ($150 value)!!

This package was designed with small business professionals in mind; those who may be facing challenges when it comes to establishing a web presence and navigating social media.  Over the course of a three-hour, one-on-one session, Sabrina will be able to get her Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, WordPress, e-mail marketing and other web design and social media questions answered!

Thanks to Lynn Bardowski, Million Dollar Party Girl, for the opportunity to appear on her radio show and to offer this drawing to her listeners!

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Jan 07

Business Wisdom from P!NK?!?

I’m confident that I was not the only one in the US completely blown away by P!NK’s performance at this year’s AMAs.  What wasn’t to be blown away by?  If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out here:

I heard it on the radio last week driving home from an appointment with a new client and the third verse really hit home for me.  I think there’s a poignant message in there for all of us entrepreneurs and small business owners. Agreed, the first two verses are clearly about personal love relationships, but when she sings:

“Ever worried that it might be ruined
And does it make you wanna cry?
When you’re out there doing what you’re doing
Are you just getting by?
Tell me are you just getting by by by

Where there is desire
There is gonna be a flame
Where there is a flame
Someone’s bound to get burned
Just because it burns
Doesn’t mean you’re gonna die
You’ve gotta get up and try try try…”

…it can really take the form of a motivational lyric for small business owners.  We can sometimes feel concern over whether our business is going to succeed and sometimes, we might even feel like crying if things are not going well.  We want to consider: when we’re doing our thing, are we really putting our all into it, or are we just scraping by on minimal effort?

Now, looking at the chorus (I love this part!) if we have a real passion (desire) for our venture, it burns inside us like a flame.  It ‘lights us up’, as I’ve heard it said.  Sometimes in business, as in life, we might get burned (sometimes as a result of our own mistakes, others as a result of being taken advantage of).  Just because you’ve been burned, though, it doesn’t mean you’ve completely failed or that your business is going to fail…

You’ve just gotta get up and try…try…try…

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Dec 18

Small Business Tools: Truly Free Stock Photography

UPDATE: Stock.Xchng in now FreeImages, but the standard license remains mostly unchanged. Link revisions and other slight changes have been made below.

As a small business owner, you need access to great images for your website, blog posts, social media, print marketing, etc.  There is an abundance of “royalty free” sites out there that charge a nominal fee for their graphics.  But if you need a LOT of artwork, those nominal fees can really add up!  Well, I have discovered a site chock full (yep, I said “chock full”) of high-quality graphic art to dress up your Facebook page, blog, or what have you that is absolutely FREE.  There is a “standard license” for all their 300000+ images that states the following:

You may use the Image:

  • In digital format on websites, multimedia presentations, broadcast film and video, cell phones.
  • In printed promotional materials, magazines, newspapers, books, brochures, flyers, CD/DVD covers, etc.
  • To decorate your home, your office or any public place.
  • For any type of personal use

You may not use the Image

  • For pornographic, unlawful or other immoral purposes, for spreading hate or discrimination, or to defame or victimize other people, societies or cultures.
  • In a way that can give a bad name to FreeImages or the person(s) depicted on the Image.
  • As part of a trademark, service mark or logo.
  • On products for resale (so you can’t put it on a mug, t-shirt, poster, calendar, CD or DVD cover, etc.).
  • SELLING AND REDISTRIBUTION OF THE IMAGE (INDIVIDUALLY OR ALONG WITH OTHER IMAGES) IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN! DO NOT SHARE THE IMAGE WITH OTHERS!

See the full content license agreement here.

For the most part, the only limitation you will find here is if you plan to sell something the image appears on. So go check out FreeImages, do a search for the images you need and grab some awesome, high-quality visuals like the ones you see below. Important to note: The top 2 rows and bottom 2 rows on each search results page contain sponsored image content – those are NOT free images!

 

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Nov 12

Positive Thinking: Yes, Virginia, It Really Works

Small Business Inspiration: Positive Thinking

We hear it all the time – “Think positive!” or “Remember the power of positive thinking!”.  Is there really power in positive thinking? Absolutely! You may not be able to make miracles happen simply by thinking positively, but you’ll certainly never make things happen by thinking negatively!!

Here are a few tips to help you defeat negative thinking:

Avoid adopting a “victim” mentality. Don’t let life come at you and just happen.  Take responsibility for creating your life.  Obviously, certain occurrences are beyond your control; I’m talking about things that happen as a result of your own actions and then crying “woe is me”.  For example, if you’re late for work every day, chances are you’ll eventually be fired.  When that dismissal occurs, you can’t pout about it and act like you’re a victim of something, falling prey to your own negative thinking.  It happened as a result of choices you made (perhaps continually staying up too late and consequently oversleeping).  MAKE a choice. COMMIT to going to bed at a decent hour and never being late for your NEXT job!

Find a collection of positive motivational quotes online, bookmark it and visit whenever negative thinking starts creeping in.  Pick one that especially resonates with you, jot it on an index card and stick it to your bulletin board (or write it on a Post-It and stick it to your computer monitor, mirror, fridge, etc).

Make a list of at least three things you are grateful for right now.  This will shift your focus from what you don’t have to what you do have, which can help transform your negative thinking to positive.

Help someone else in some way.  This is another great technique for shifting focus away from whatever may be causing your negative thinking.  You’ll start feeling better just knowing you’ve done something positive in someone else’s life (as Jesus taught, there is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving!).

Turn your negative thoughts into positives.  Instead of simply, “I’m going to have a hard time meeting my client’s deadline,” practice thinking more along the lines of, “Meeting my client’s deadline is going to be a challenge, but I can surely come up with a solution to make it happen.”

Again, while you’re not guaranteed a desired outcome just by thinking positively, you can be assured said outcome is out of reach if you consistently practice negative thinking.

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