nolacooper.com

Are you thinkng about outsourcing the areas of your business that you don’t have time for?  Things like graphic design, website set up, blog expertise and basic design for your Facebook pages and other marketing tools?  I have a solution for you…

Today I had the opportunity to interview Nola Cooper, owner of Nola Cooper Designs.   Nola has worked closely with me to help me with WordPress and graphic design for my own business.  If you preview the header at the top of this blog or go see my sidebar on my Facebook page, you will see the work of Nola Cooper.

In today’s interview, Nola discusses the difference between WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org.   She explains the difference between the free vs the hosting versions.  She also discusses the difference between posts and pages and how she can help you get your business of the ground using her various areas of expertise.

This 15 minute interview gives you an overview of Nola’s work and it is well worth listening to if you are thinking about spending more time building your business while outsourcing the other areas of your business to an expert in graphic design and more.

===>> To access the recording, just click here.

What do you think of outsourcing to get your business off the ground?  Please leave your comments below and share with us what you do to outsource.

Until next time, have a wonderful day,

Cindy

Attention Visual Learners.!

I have a video series BELOW to help guide you through the Timeline maze.  

Click on each video one at a time to see how the new Timeline works. 

Like it or not, Facebook Timeline is coming.  So instead of complaining, you have 2 choices.  You can get it set up and enjoy the ride, or you can say goodbye to Facebook as you know it and go somewhere else.

As a Solutions Coach, I like to look at this as a new chapter in Facebook and to turn those fears into solutions and enjoy the ride.  By making these 5 short videos, I am providing a solution for you to ease your mind and help you get started.

SIDE NOTE:  Rumor has it, Timeline will be mandatory on January 31, 2012 so if you follow these steps, you can have your new Timeline up and running in no time.

I SUGGEST YOU TAKE YOUR TIME, GET IT RIGHT, Then Publish!  Just a suggestion….

Just follow these steps and you will be up and running in no time.

WATCH VIDEO 1 - STEP 1 – REQUESTING YOUR TIMELINE 

Click on this link to request your Timeline

====>> https://www.facebook.com/about/timeline

WATCH VIDEO 2 - SETTING UP YOUR COVER  

WATCH VIDEO 3  - UPDATES AND PRIVACY SETTINGS

WATCH VIDEO 4 - ACTIVITY LOG 

WATCH VIDEO 5 – FINAL STEPS 

RESOURCES:

RESOURCES FOR A CUSTOMIZED COVER

http://picscatter.com/

http://timelinecoverbanner.com/

http://www.faceitpages.com/

http://thesitecanvas.com/

http://coverjunction.com/

Facebook Help Links

APPS TO ADD FOR YOUR TIMELINE

APPS HELP CENTER

FACEBOOK BLOG

Please leave comments below and let me know if you have any questions.  And feel free to share this with others too.

Cindy

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Sometimes it’s nice for your clients/customers to hear from you other than written words in an email, Facebook, Twitter,  blogging and all the other platforms you use to get your message out there.

How about another method called your voice?  It’s time to let your voice be heard.

I say this because I am guilty of staying with the written form of conveying my message and realized I need to do more using other forms of communication as well.  This year I vow to start utilizing lots of platforms to let my voice be heard.  As a matter of fact, I already did an expert interview using a Teleseminar platform.

With so many options today, you can use social media platforms, mobile phones, Youtube and many other sources, you have many ways to let your audience hear your voice.

Below I have listed some ideas for you if you are interested in getting your message heard through voice.

Youtube - Using video marketing is so powerful.  Youtube is just one video platform.  There are so many others as well and I will be including them in my new ebook that is coming out soon.

Teleseminars - These are very powerful platforms to use.  For those who are on a small budget and are just starting out, I highly recommend this free site called Free Conferencing.

Cinch - This is a powerful tool that allows you to record and share your voice on audio and place it in your social media sites.

Blog Talk Radio - Want to have your own radio show?  This is a great way to get started.

Skype - I love Skype and use it to communicate with clients, friends, family as it allows me to connect via video conferencing, sharing screens and many other options as well.  It’s a great way to connect internationally as well.

Other forms of verbal communication include: 

Use Your computer webcam – Most new computers have a built in webcam. If you computer is an older model, you can purchase a webcam at a very reasonable rate.

Use Your Mobile phone – Many mobile phones include video options where you can record yourself and send it directly to Youtube or your email to edit it.

These are just a few options to use for getting your voice heard.  I don’t want to overwhelm you with so many options at this time.

What are some other forms what you use?  Please let the readers know by leaving a comment below.

Until next time, have a great day,

Cindy

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When you grow, your business grows, then big changes start to take place.

For those of you who are newbies, have you noticed that the more you grow, the more your business grows too?  You may not feel that way yet, and believe me, I have been there; done that!

Let me explain….. When I first got started learning all I needed to learn to market online and to grow an online business, I was so new that I didn’t know where to begin.  It was overwhelming, hard and challenging, to say the least.  But I was determined to make a go of it, through a lot of trials and tribulations.

When I talk about “Grow,” I am talking about your personal development, continuation of educating yourself, reaching out to the experts and making sure you are always continuing to learn..

While you are learning,  you will make “mistakes.”  Just consider those mistakes as learning experiences to help you continue to grow.  So remember, never stop learning, always put that important piece of your business into your daily and weekly goals.

What’s great now, is the fact that I have been through all those challenges and now have an opportunity to help others so that they can lessen their overwhelm, gain their confidence and feel good about moving their business forward too.  With my continued efforts to learn, I am preparing for more growth in my business.

After making a decision to make 2012 my year for RESULTS, I took a good hard look at my business from last year and decided to make some big changes this year.  I found that there is a real need to help those who are new to online marketing and wanting the desire to start an online business.  Those are the folks I want to reach out to.

So, for the rest of the month of January, you will start to see changes in my business.  I am in the process of changing the name from “Bloomin’ Boomers” to “Simple Solutions – Big Results.” During this process,  I will be changing the format of my blog, my facebook page and my blogging post to help those who are looking for simple solutions and big results so they can lessen their overload and gain their confidence along the way.

So watch as it progresses.  I am redesigning my business as I continue to grow.

Stay tuned….

Oh, and don’t forget to download my FREE REPORT, “5 Simple Solutions For The New Entrepreneur”

Until next time, have a wonderful day,

Cindy

In yesterday’s blog post, I shared my expert interview with my friend and colleague, Cindy Schulson.  If you missed that interview, you can get the replay here.

In today’s post, I want to go a bit further and tell you about a complimentary webinar Cindy is offering on Tuesday, January 24, 2012.   Think about it……

How would you like to have your ideal clients find you vs. having to chase after them? And imagine if they came to you already convinced that you’re the perfect person to help them. And what if you could build a targeted list of people who want to hear from you?

Does this sound too good to be true?

Well, it’s entirely possible, and even probable, when you discover how to create the fastest path to ideal clients that Cindy is going to share on an upcoming free webinar.

On this complimentary webinar, Cindy is going to provide you with a foolproof formula that includes:

•  The biggest missing piece that most soloprofessionals overlook when building their business, and what it’s costing you.
• The secret to finding your niche (it’s not just a matter of choosing a target market)
• How to stand out from the crowd and outshine the competition
• The exact steps you need to take to attract your ideal clients, online or offline. If you miss a step, you will end up with either
  no clients or the “wrong” clients.
• The # 1 thing you need to build a targeted list!

I know Cindy and her calls are always very content rich and chock full of valuable information. So be sure to bring a pen and paper to take lots of notes!

I’ll see you on the call!

P.S. Although a recording will be provided for a short time after the call, you will want to be there live because Cindy is going to be doing something she’s never done before on a webinar. She’ll actually be giving away hundreds of dollars in free gifts in the form of access to her upcoming program!

You can register below: 

=====================

“The Fastest Path to Ideal Clients and a Targeted List”

Tuesday, January 24

1pm PST (2pm MST, 3pm CST, 4pm EST, 9pm GMT)

Learn more and register here

=====================

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So many people have asked me how I got started with my online and offline business.

I tell them, in the beginning, it was a struggle for me.  With so much information out there, it’s hard to know where to begin.  There are so many programs to study, products you can purchase and membership sites you can join to get all the information you need.

Then the information overload became so overwhelming.

I found that many of these products and programs created more information overload, which created more confusion, which created more debt and on and on and on………

I knew I could get my business going because I saw so many others having success and sharing their expertise with others and I was determined to find my way.  That’s when I found a solution!

I began to look for experts in various areas of my business and began mentoring with them. When I learned to take smaller steps and find simple solutions, I began to understand what I needed to do and my business started taking shape.

It’s all about taking simple small steps and mastering each one before you go to the next phase.  In my interview series, I will be introducing you to experts in different areas of your business.  If you are looking for a solution to getting started, I highly recommend you listen to this expert interview as I asked questions on the importance of researching your niche as STEP 1.

Today’s post is to introduce you to my friend and mentor, Cindy Schulson, founder of Attract Your Niche.   Yesterday I had the pleasure of interviewing Cindy and I have included the recording in this blog post for you to enjoy.

In this interview, Cindy shares her background, her reasons for making Niche research the very first step. and her expertise in Niche Research.  You will learn about your Who, What and Why, Magical Marketing Message and some personal messages that both she and I shared.

This 25 minute interview is full of great nuggets and I highly suggest you listen to it when you can.  You will learn alot about why researching your niche should be step 1.  

And by the way, Cindy offers a FREE report called ““Ten Steps to Finding and Attracting Your Ideal Niche” so don’t forget to request your copy today. 

>>>>>To listen to the replay, click here.

Please let me know what you think.  I love it when you leave comments below.

Until next time, have a great day,

Cindy 

© Zabiamdeve | Dreamstime.com

Today marks the last day of the first 2 weeks in 2012.

What have you accomplished so far this year?

On January 1st I decided to keep a daily journal of how I spend my time to move my business forward.

This is what I did…… Everytime I completed a task on my to do list, I wrote it down on my journal and kept track of how much time it took to do each task.

It’s been a great learning experience as I noticed I wasn’t getting the results I am planning to get.  Resolving those problems early in the year will help me move forward and I would like to share some of my observations with you in this blog post.

I have broken them down by showing you the problems I encountered after reviewing my notes. and then sharing my solution.  You can check it out below..

Problem:

• In reviewing my daily journal, I noticed that I was spending way to much time checking my emails, getting on my social media sites, sending messages and comments, posting blog comments, commenting on others blogs and doing all the necessary but busy work first thing in the morning.  When it was all done, I noticed that I hadn’t spent anytime working on the monetization part of my business.

Solution:

• My solution was to calendar in the first 2 hours of my day for working my business before doing anything else.  This reversal has helped me accomplish so much more now that I am reworking my daily “To Do” list.

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Today is Friday the 13th and many people have a suspicion that today will bring them bad luck.

I thought today would be a great day to do a blog post about Friday the 13th and find some interesting facts about it.    So I Googled and got some interesting results.

In my search I came across this article from Dr. 13.  The doctor, also known as University of Delaware’s Thomas Fernsler, has a long-term relationship with the number 13.

Being a native of Delaware,  and currently living up here on a temporary basis, I decided to learn more about him.

“I know more than probably anybody really wants to know about it,” says Fernsler, associate policy scientist in the Math & Science Education Resource Center at UD.

His fascination with 13 translates into a teaching tool for kids. He visits elementary and middle school classrooms trying to show students math when you look for patterns and coincidences.  In the article, Dr  Fernsler sites 13 very interesting facts about Friday the 13th that I found very interesting.  I have listed them below.

13 FACTS ABOUT 13

1. The first person to die in a car accident was killed in New York City on Sept. 13, 1899.
2. The British Navy is notoriously afraid of Friday the 13th. Nonetheless, it built a ship named Friday the 13th. On its maiden voyage, the vessel left dock on a Friday the 13th and was never heard from again.
3. The ill-fated Apollo 13 launched at 13:13 CST on 4/11/70. The sum of the date’s digits is 13. The explosion that crippled the spacecraft occurred on April 13th.
4. Many hospitals have no room 13. Some tall buildings have no 13th floor. The numbers on the rooms and elevators jump from 12 to 14.
5. Quarterback Dan Marino wore No. 13 throughout his career with the Miami Dolphins. Marino is said to be the best quarterback who never won a Super Bowl.
6. Butch Cassidy was born on Friday, April 13, 1866.
7. President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not travel on the 13th day of any month and would never host 13 guests at a meal.
8. Superstitious diners in Paris can hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest.
9. Woodrow Wilson considered 13 his lucky number. He was the first president to leave the country during his term. He arrived in Normandy, Francem on Friday, Dec. 13, 1918. He returned from Europe with a treaty he couldn’t get Congress to sign. He toured the U.S. to rally support for the treaty, and while traveling, suffered a near fatal stroke. (Maybe 13 wasn’t his lucky number after all!)
10. 13 suffers from its position after 12, which numerologists consider a complete number — 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel,12 apostles of Jesus, 12 days of Christmas and 12 eggs in a dozen.
11. Mark Twain once was the 13th guest at a dinner party. A friend warned him not to go. “It was bad luck,” Twain later told the friend, “they only had food for 12.”
12. The seals on the back of a dollar bill include 13 steps on the pyramid, 13 stars above the eagle’s head, 13 war arrows in the eagle’s claw and 13 leaves on the olive branch.
13. Fidel Castro was born on Friday, Aug. 13, 1926.

Oh, and one more thing.. I had my first job layoff in 2009 on Friday the 13th.  I wonder if I can add that to Dr 13′s facts?  LOL……

What are you thoughts on these facts?  Did you learn anything?  I sure did.

Can you add to the list?  Please leave a comment below, I love hearing from you.

Stay safe and enjoy this Friday the 13th.

Cindy

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It’s been 5 months since I was laid off from my job and I have to say the rejections I have been getting created a negative mindset and I started to take them personally.

You see, I was always very marketable and never had trouble finding a J.O.B.  But now it seems to be a job just to look for a job and it’s taking a toll on my psyche.

Not only is it affecting my desire to continue to look for jobs, it’s is creating a sense of wonder as I start questioning my purpose and my abilities.

Rejections come in many forms both personally and professionally so I started to change my thought process.  Now I am working everyday to find the positive side of rejection.

For one thing, my goal for this year is to focus more on my home biz.  When I do that, my excitement comes back, my love of what I do comes back and I get more motivated and determined to find the Results that will allow me to stop looking for a JOB.  It seems the more I focus on what I want to do, the more the rejections become less painful.

Rejection comes with having a home biz too.  For example, people may unsubscribe from your mailing list or may send negative comments on your biz page or in an email.

At first, I took that personally too until I realized that I can’t please everyone and not everyone is looking for my help.

Therefore, I have learned that looking for a JOB and working for myself can both create rejections of some sort.

Now, it’s just a matter of learning to turn it off, not take it personally and realize that I am still the same person I have always been, just a bit older and wiser.

How do you handle rejection?  I would love for you to share you comments below.

Until next time, have a great day,

Cindy

© Dawn Hudson | Dreamstime.com

Have you purchased product after product hoping to build your business and found yourself more overwhelmed than ever the more products you bought?

If there is one lesson I want to instill in my clients, based on my own experience, is to stop buying and start applying.  I spent more money than I made when I first got started and I am passing this message along to you so you don’t make the same mistake.

Don’t get me wrong, I learned a lot and found some awesome mentors and leaders through my studies but I started to feel more overwhelmed the more I purchased.

So this year, in 2012, I am dusting off my shelves and taking each product that I purchased last year and going to implement it step by step.  In other words, my goal for 2012 is to stop buying until I start applying those courses that have kept me frozen in my tracks and I would like to invite you to join me.

This is my year for RESULTS and that means implementation is key.  I am going to take each area of starting a new business and ask experts in those areas to let me interview them.  Along with those interviews, I will be starting regular teleseminars and inviting my followers to join me in some webinars too.

FYI – I am very excited that I have already booked 2 expert interviews.  One for January and one for February.  More on this later.

So if you want to stop buying until you start applying what you have learned, come join me.

Are you in?     Let me know in the comments section below.

See you soon,

Cindy