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Baby boomers are finding career solutions by becoming entrepreneurs.    Many are ready to make the change due to a job layoff, while others are choosing to become entrepreneurs because they are ready to retire and want to do something else in their “next life.”

As a baby boomer myself, I have been through the ringer when it comes to change.  Having lost my job twice since 2009, I have been struggling to find my way.  After countless interviews, rejections and a loss of financial security, I decided to find solutions to my challenges by becoming a solopreneur.

It hasn’t been easy but it can be done if you have determination, creativity and an entrepreneurial mind. Yes, that’s right!  More and more baby boomers are becoming entrepreneurs.   Not everyone is cut out to do this so there are some questions you should ask yourself first.

Here are some questions to consider: 

1. Are you ready to work hard and long hours?  - This is not a get rich quick venture.  You will have to put long hours into the beginning stages but it is worth it if you follow a plan.
2. Can you adjust to quiet and loneliness, after working closely with your coworkers in an office environment?
3. Are you willing to do what it takes?
4. Are you ready to think outside the box?
5. Can you overcome challenges and struggles?
6. Do you adjust well to change?
7. Are you willing to throw “perfection” out the window and just get started?
8. Are you willing to do what it takes and not quit?

What are some of the benefits?

1. You are your own boss – You get to set your schedule, your salary and your lifestyle
2. You can bring your pets.  - It’s a lot of fun to have your favorite pet by your side to offer their support and devotion.
3. You can work around your family.  Set your schedule to get your work done when the kids are in school.
4. You can save gas.  - With the price of gas going up every day, wouldn’t it be nice to have a 2 minute commute to your home office?
5. You can choose your clients/customers.
6. You can become the expert in your niche.
7. You can reap the rewards of your hard work instead of working hard to make profits for your company. Now you can profit for the benefit or YOUR company.
8. You learn alot about yourself and will be amazed at how much you can influence others who are looking for your expertise.
9. You DO work long hours in the beginning.  But as you build your business and put your systems in place, you can start to lessen the hours and gain more time for you and your family.
10. YOU get to build the foundation from the bottom up!
11. You can learn new ways of networking and finding JV partners by the use of social media, online and offline networking opportunities.

Mari Smith and Guy Kawasaki have partnered in an upcoming webinar as they share the 7 hottest social media business trends of 2012 and you are invited to join them.

Social Media is changing so fast and new social sites are popping up all over the place.  In order to grow any business, it’s essential to stay informed and to walk the walk when it comes to marketing your business.  It’s important to keep up with the experts to stay up to date on all the changes and here is your opportunity to do so.

On Wednesday March 28, Mari and Guy will take you on a deep dive of the 7 Hottest Business Trends in Social Media this year. And they’re not only talking about the latest tools like Pinterest and Google+ … they’re also going to unravel the fundamental shifts that affect anyone using Social Media today (like you, me and just about everyone we know!)

What exactly will they be discussing?

Trend 1 – Big Brand Bypass

Trend 2 – Humanize to Monetize

Trend 3 – Cause Based Consumers

Trend 4 – Super Social Status

Trend 5 – Awesome vs. “Flawsome”

Trend 6 – Mad For Mobile

Trend 7 – Privacy Paranoia

Mari and Guy have the expertise to explain how you can put these trends to use for a substantial boost in your business profits — simply by getting these red-hot trends on YOUR side with proven strategies like successful companies they deal with around the world.   Learn more about Mari and Guy below:

Be sure to register right away and save your seat, before this popular webinar fills up completely. Mari’s last webinar had over 15,000 registrants (wow!)… but she’s capped this one at only 10,000 lines for this LIVE webinar. So, I recommend you don’t wait, or you could miss out!

To get access to the FREE webinar, fill in the form below: 

Name:

Email:

We respect your email privacy

Let me know if you have any comments or questions in the comment box below.

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What is your greatest challenge in your business?

As a newbie, we tend to be bogged down with the learning curve and all that comes from setting up your new online business.

Wheather it be marketing, finding your niche, social media or all the other steps it takes to get started.

I remember my first biggest challenge was just getting started.   These were some of the questions I asked myself:

1. How do I get started?
2. What steps do I need to take?
3. Who do I want to be my mentor?
4. Do I need coaching or consulting?
5. Why isn’t my business growing?

Do you have those same questions or concerns?  Newbies are always asking me how to begin so I decided to put together a program in May that needs my attention now.  That’s why I need your help.

If you have challenges in your business, would you please take the time to respond to my survey?  That way, I can help you overcome those challenges and help you take the steps you need to make 2012 your real for RESULTS too.

Here is the link to the survey.  Thanks alot.

So I ask you again, what is your greatest business challenge?  Why not leave a comment below and let us know.  Who knows, you may find your solution.

Cindy

dreamstime.com

Do you want to know how to avoid information overload?  It’s a huge issue with business owners, and this is how it usually happens.

Ok, so you are ready to start your new business and it’s a very exciting time for you.  You get pumped up to learn all you can, soak it all up like a sponge and hoping that you will be able to focus and get it all done.  You find great content and you sign up for everyone’s FREE report, then, BAM!

The emails start to flood your inbox, everyone is telling you to do this and do that.  You are getting invited to webinars, trainings, and you are being bombarded with product launches and sales pages.

Yep, I have been there done that myself and it is not a way to build your business.  As a matter of fact, the overwhelm from the overload can freeze you in your tracks.  So I had to come up with ways to overcome that overload myself and now I want to share those solutions with you.

Take your business one step at a time by mastering one area of your business first.  For example, if you are trying to research your niche, make sure you just focus on that one topic until you have mastered that before moving onto the next area of your business.

• Unsubscribe to all the emails that you don’t open.  (True confessions:  On January1, 2012, I had over 5,000 unread emails.)  YIKES!  Guess what I did?  I unsubscribed to many of them and am still doing so,  a bit at a time each day, and this is adding to another unwanted “to do” task that I really don’t have time for.  So don’t let your emails get that big.
• Find 3 – 5 mentors and follow them.  Follow their programs, sign up for their products and services and stick with them in the beginning of your journey.
• Turn off the noise – If you are focused on one area of your business then turn off your Facebook, Twitter, Skype and all the other distractions until it is time in your schedule to go there and do what you have to do.   (For example, I use Google Chrome, which allows me to open up many tabs at once that I can click back and forth on.  This year, I am not doing that and my business has taken a big leap due to my attention to focus.)
• Stay focused.  I like to plan 60 to 90 minutes on each task per day without any other interruption.  This allows me to stay focused for a shorter amount of time and then I take a short break by stretching or taking a short walk then it’s back to work on something else.
• Make email file folders for those emails you want to keep.  I call it my swipe file.  When I get an email that interests me, instead of taking the time to read it or get distracted from my daily “to do” list, I drop it in it’s file folder to review later, during my training period that I have scheduled in my weekly calendar.

What do you do to avoid information overload?  Please leave your ideas and comment below.

Until next time, enjoy your day and stay focused.

Cindy

I am doing something simple and fun today in this blog post.  At the request of Copyblogger, I have taken the opportunity to share these 22 ways to create compelling content by embedding the code as a way for me to share their content with you.

They added this beautifully done graphic view of some great ways to get your content out there, designed by the BlueGlass Infographic team.

Do you have other ideas that you can add to this list?  Why not leave a comment below and let the readers know what you think?  

Until next time, have a great day. 

© Sinan Isakovic | Dreamstime.com

Hi there.  I have been working offline alot these past few days to get my RESULTS mastery plan for the month of February.

When I got on Facebook, Twitter and my other social media sites this week, I noticed so much noise out there.  This got me thinking… No wonder there is so much information overload and confusion for the newbie who wants to find a path for success.

Everywhere I go, people are talking about the new Timeline, Google +, Twitter, LinkedIn, teleseminars, social media, marketing techniques, blogging and NOW all the noise is focused on Pinterest, the newest social media site that is a virtual pinboard where you can post all the things you love.  Wow, I have a headache just thinking about all the things there are to do to get your business started.

While these tools are important in one’s business,  I am not sure how people get so much done when there are so many things to learn, implement and market.  It reminds me of how overwhelmed I became in my first year of my online business and the frustration and confusion that I felt.  It’s as if we become a jack of all trades and a master of none if we don’t focus on one area at a time.

Now don’t get me wrong, I was guilty of joining in all the noise, and sometimes find myself getting back into my old habits.  BUT, I am asking you newbies to step back and learn to master one area of your new business at a time.  Why am I telling you this?  Because I have been there, done that!

Here are some tips:

• Take simple and manageable steps each day to help you stay focused.
• Find one or two mentors, a coach or talk with a friend or colleague
• Devote your time to complete one task before you move onto another one.
• Decide what area is most important to you at the stage of your new business.  Ask yourself:
• “Have I confirmed my niche?”
• “Is what I am working on moving me forward?”
• “Do I really need to learn all the social media sites right away?”
• “Which mentors can help me along the way?”
• Write down each task you do and how long it takes you so that you can refer to that list to see what areas you need to work on.
• Turn off all distractions when you are working on one project.
• And, don’t give up!

These are just a few tips that can help you get started.  I don’t want to see you newbies get overwhelmed and overworked by all the noise.  Just remember, you can learn from those, such as myself, who have experienced the noise and can now help you not do what I did.

Until next time, here’s to your success.

What do you think about all the noise and how do you handle it?

Please leave your comments below and share with the readers.

Cindy

© Mahmoud Mahdy | Dreamstime.com

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

© 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.

When I first got started in my online journey, I never dreamed how social media would change my life.  I realize now that social media is here to stay and I want to invite you to get social with me.

After I mastered my learning curve and set up Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and all the other social media platforms, I started engaging, networking and meeting others who were also business owners.  But during that time, I also connected with personal friends who I haven’t seen forever and reconnected with high school friends and long lost family friends.

Social media allowed me to find entrepreneurs, just like me, who were newbies.

Social media introduced me to coaches, mentors, trainers and like minded individuals to created wonderful products and offered great services.  Their connections allowed me to get to know them through online connections but it also gave me opportunities to attend live events and make life long friends with those I first met online.

Social Media also connected me with many of my high school friends.  With these connections, we started a Facebook group,  invited all our classmates to join in and we all planned our 40th reunion that took place in September of 2011.  We had a great time, shared photos and videos and continue to stay connected, even after the event is over.  Now we are planning a summer reunion at the beach.

Best of all…. It’s FREE!  

Are you social on any social media platforms?  If not,  I invite you to get on board..  If you are already a part of any social media platforms, please come a join me.  Below I have listed my links to invite you to connect with me.

Facebook profile

Facebook business page

Twitter

Youtube

LinkedIn

Please go to the comments section below and say hello. Then share your social media links and I will be glad to come and socialize with you too.

Looking forward to our social connections.

Until next time, have a great day.

Cindy