Without giving to much detail, this year was a lot like being pregnant. For those who have had children, you understand the sacrifices made, the discipline and commitment it takes just to have a healthy baby. That is all diminished, with the pain of labor, the hours in pain and agony just seem to be “forgotten” when you see your baby. It all was justified.

This year I learned one (out of many) really important lesson: You can. What ever you dream, what ever you wish, no matter the long shot, no matter the odds, you can. But above all else, You are worth it.

From the bottom of my heart, my most sincerest thanks to you my clients, readers and friends. Big thank you to Dior(Merci mom amie! Je suis très heureux et reconnaissant pour l’occasion du Adore Dior! Basiers Cherie!), Glamour Magazine Glambassador Michelle Rossi, DivineDiamonds.com Diva Ruta fox and Marketing Dynamo Sherri Baldi. AND for She Takes On The World`s 2008 Woman of the Year Award. I could barely read it through my tears-Thank you! A big kiss to all of you!

Have a happy, healthy and prosperous 2009.

Love, blessings and kisses,
Elaine Biss

Starting on the right foot will make 2009 “your year.” Here are 8 ways to claim it;

1. You are a priority-That`s right! YOU. If you don`t believe me ask yourself, if you are hospitalized today, who knows how to manage your business? Who knows your passwords? Your vendors? Your customers better than you? Glad you get it! How do you care for you? Have a set “time” schedule. Work your work hours and then stop. Take lunch breaks (would you give a lunch break to your employees? If the answer is yes, then have a daily break. See what happened to Walmart.) Studies show people are more productive when they take  breaks in equal intervals. Here is a nifty article on software that helps you with just that.
2. Set a Mark-Just like when you travel, you map out your journey, the same should be done with your business. This is not about being greedy, but about having direction and making a steady profit. Per example, how much do you want to make? What is your monthly sales goal? Do you even have a monthly sales goal? Where do you see YOURSELF in 5 years? Where do you see YOUR BUSINESS in 5 years? They are not the same and require you to do some soul searching. If you think this may be a long shot, please listen to the audio below. Click here for A Touch of Greatness.

Simply Click Play to Begin


Sample audio is approximately 10 minutes in length.

3. Set Your Standards-When I worked at the hospital, the standards were set very high for anyone wishing to acquire employment. Slackers need not apply. How would you set standards? Nix the time wasters-people or activities when working. Focus when working, play when playing. Don`t accept less than what you are worth. Make quality NOT quantity a priority.  Make work time holy and YOU TIME sacred. Firefox has a nifty timer that allows you to track how long have you been online. If you minimize the browser, it pauses.
   
4. Make Your Standards Visible- Besides my prices, my “rules” and my goals are visible all the time. If you are still asking why, listen to the audio.
5. Make a Commitment-If a successful marriage is a product of 2 people making a commitment to forsake all others, then a successful business is the product of your commitment to the guidelines, standards and goals you have placed for yourself. It takes discipline, a product of commitment, and ACTION to maintain a successful business. Reaffirming to yourself the love for what you do, will create momentum for you to move forward and create success.
6. Make Space for Better-If a certain item doesn`t sell, why carry it? If a old computer makes you waste time because it`s old and slow, why keep it? Donate it or give it to the kids.  You deserve to have tools that work and products that sell or else space is made for better. Also as I wrote in one of my Feng Shui articles, getting rid of the old allows you to have space to RECEIVE the NEW.
7. Dance me through the panic- When I first heard this phrase, I was clueless as to what it meant. After reading Fearless by Steven Chandler, I understood. It means to have fun when others worry. If you don`t have fun doing what you do and the panic is greater that the activity, you are more likely to give up. I love what I do. I have fun learning new things, new software new ways of managing my business.  If I didn`t love it as much as I do, I would not have endured the hardships, the crazyness and the lows only to be rewarded with the sweet taste of success.
8. Be fearless-Just take the plunge. Be smart and calculate your next step, but do it. Fear and panic can be paralyzing can even take you back a step or two. Your actions towards a healthy goal always pay you in a positive manner when everyone else is petrified with fear.

You have already taken the greatest leap of faith there is, you have employed yourself based on your skill. Why not act like you believe in you and create the income you desire? Have a prosperous 2009!

Resources

• Tom`s 12 Laws of Life
• Feng Shui your Desk
• Productivity
  

However I was taken by this particular one.

NAME: Emily Gordon
TITLE: editor-in-chief, Print; founder, emdashes.com
2009 PREDICTION(S): The good, the bad, and the Ghost of Media Future: Newspaper veterans will unite to create the greatest online resource of all time and overthrow all the sites that put them out of business. Newsday (snappy URL, right?) will rise again as a megasite that dwarfs other news aggregators. PR and journalism will merge to become flackalism. Someone will design an online course called “Multimedia for Magazine Editors in Five Minutes a Day” that will make that someone a whole bunch of money; why not you? Professional bloggers nationwide will unionize, with the encouragement of President Obama and Mayor Bloomberg, and demand full benefits and reasonable work conditions. Readers of long, focused stories online will get tired of scrolling and pay for well-designed paper versions—even more for signed copies from the right authors. (This I can prove.) And someone’s got to start paying for the Internet, maybe with a package subscription to favorite sites, which would come, Salon Premium-style, with magazines, music, party invitations, and meaningful community privileges.

I am particularly excited about that. The power is returned to the masses and they in turn, make money.

If you want to see what the corporate wigs are saying, watch the video. I think we are about to see the birth of a new era in print media and I for one, can`t wait to see it. I have no predictions, but if I had one, Emily`s would be close.

“The superior man understands what is right; the inferior man understands what will sell”
–Confucius

As I hear the complains on the economy, and how some businesses are not doing as well as they should be, I can`t help but wonder what is it that they are doing (and not doing). You see, if what you are doing is not working, then it makes sense to try something else.

It doesn`t always mean you throw out your old site or business concept, but it does mean finding a new angle or venue to capitalize on your idea.  Selling is just one way to make money. Here 5 easy things you can so to maintain your sell, (from easiest to hardest to do)

1. Blogging for Dollars-Selling space on your blog to advertisers like Google Adwords and AdBrite and make money selling ad space there. Because blogs can be about anything, you would not be selling ad space to competitors. Per example, If you blog about stationery and you are a clothing boutique, the ads placed on that page will be about paper.
2. Newsletters that rock-Displaying your items in a way that appeals to the masses is not rocket science. Use your logo to brand, pick three items you want show off and use graphics to highlight what matters. You can even sell ad space here!



3. Join The Affiliate League -If you can`t afford to advertise, then offer an incentive to promote! Affiliates at the Pepperjam Network offer from $1 to 50 per sale brought from your blog. Share the wealth and everyone makes a buck.
4. Be a Guru-There is always something you know more of, of know how to do better than anyone else. So why not write about it? Start a blog, blogger.com and wordpress.com are free, and just write. This can in turn make you an expert and you can become a consultant.  You can also make $$$ by selling ad space!
5. Diversify with in your field-If you only sell baby stuff, sell items for the whole family. If you have a service for small businesses, offer it to big ones. If you make bows, make custom ribbon bows! If you sell gifts, sell corporate gifts.

There are many ways to create income. Finding yours can be a great adventure!

Resources

Jump Start Your Business After the Holiday Slump

So when my light bill hit $268.00, and they wouldn`t take my right arm as payment, I decided I was going to go green. Why give away my money to them when I truly didn`t have to?? Here are 8 ways to cut that bill.

1. Let your PC sleep- Your pc comes equipped to utilize energy in an efficient way, It`s called sleep mode. Many debates have been sprung on the subject, whether or not sleep mode affects performance. In my humble view, it doesn`t!! If you do maintenance defragmentation as you should on your pc, it will work for you as it should. Engineers added it to pcs because they knew it could handle it! If you still feel you don`t want to set your computer to sleep, then shut it off.
2. Your computer`s friends need sleep too!-That`s right, that huge printer, scanner, monitor, wireless network and everything else you connect to your pc and an outlet will pull energy. I have those in a separate power surge protector and I disconnect that from the wall.
3. Disconnect your cable box from the wall- Deemed an “energy vampire” because even in its idle state it can suck more than 60 watts of electricity (I don`t have the exact figure for this one, I believe it`s twice that amount). The bill became lower in May when we started doing that. It was probably the one thing that got us hooked on being greenies.
   

   The figures don`t lie.

4. Change the light bulbs-After switching from incandescent light bulbs to energy efficient light bulbs the bill dropped dramatically in May. They are bright, and last up to 10,000 hours. Incandescent 100 watt bulbs have a life of 750 hours. You may pay more but you get more light out of the bulb, plus a lower bill.
   
5. Energy vampires are lurking!!-If you are not using it, disconnect it completely. Appliances in its “off” state will suck up to 60 watts or more in electricity.
6. Buy HE appliances-I don`t mean Manly! I mean “High Efficiency.” I couldn`t afford to buy ALL high efficiency appliances, but I started the process.  You may want to take a look at the chart. Between April and June, I used the local Laundry mat to see how much I could save. Then I tried washing them out and drying them home from July to August. Summer ended and I rather do my laundry at home, so I gave myself a high efficiency washer on September. It remained low.
7. Let the sunshine in!- I open up the window shades and let the sunshine in. Besides being a natural mood enhancers, sunshined rooms in my home a toastier than my darker rooms. My studio is now in a room that catches the morning sunlight and the other side gets the afternoon light.
8. Check your local company for greener energy sources-In the 90`s, Pennsylvania participated in a program that allowed you to choose what green energy company would provide your energy and you could even cost compare. Make the call or visit their respective websites.

Of couse no technology is perfect. When it comes to light bulbs, I am perfectly aware of the warnings on the box. Until we(Americans) manufacture our own energy efficient ligh bulbs, then I will switch. Oh, and if you don`t believe, that`s my bill and I will send it to you so you can pay it.

Resources

• Incandesent light bulbs will be banned by 2010 in EU
• Energy Vampires Watts Chart
• New Technology
• DUH!! The smartest are usually the dumbest
  
• Vampire Appliences suck 3 billions a year
  
• Low standby energy appliances
  
• Energy Star Website
  
• Electricity Saving Calculator
  

First I found that there are some “qualifications” to what you would call recycled or earth friendly papers.

• Recycled content paper-paper milled with a percentage of recycled paper, calculated from 10% to 100% of pre-consumer (paper not disposed by consumers) or post-consumer (paper recycled after purchased, used and disposed of by the consumer)
• Forest Stewardship Council paper-”managed” forest have a few trees cut down to avoid overgrowth and used in the paper industry, producing “virgin” paper.
• Sustainable Forestry Initiative paper-Same as above
• Paper produced carbon neutral-These companies reduce and offset (reduction through energy diversification) their carbon emissions.
• Paper produced using wind power-Paper mill is powered using wind power.
  

  Carbon Neutral Resource Energy

• Tree Free content paper-Alternative fiber source is used in the paper
• Elemental Chlorine Free paper-Adding chlorine in the paper making is done to brighten pulp, resulting in brighter, whiter paper.

Okay that was a mouthful! Now is that helping in any way the forests? Here is what I found:

• Space is saved in our landfills when we recycle paper products more than any other materials and each piece of paper can be recycled up to five times before the fibers become too weak . 1(Yesterday I watched a show that said seven times)
• 44 million newspapers are disposed of each day here in the U.S. Sadly it`s  like throwing 500,000 trees into a landfill each week. 2
• Recycling one ton of paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil and 7000 gallons of water! 3
• If  one person was to reuse a paper grocery bag for just one trip to the store, we would save 60,000 trees. 4 Imagine the trees we could be save if we all chose reusable cloth shopping bags instead! (Cited in part-Leah Thorpe)

The bottom line-$$$

Virgin Paper Prices

Recycled Paper Prices- BTW, It`s $99.85 for 2500 sheets of recycled paper to $144 or virgin paper, same quantity.

Quality

I only could tell the recycled from the virgin when it hit my wallet. There was not quality difference.

When you are better informed, you can make better decisions. Having an ecofriendly business can cut cost drastically and relieve some of your monthly expenses. I really dislike a stuffy sales person who undermines the possibility I have researched this prior to purchasing paper. Just for fun, play dumb and cross check what information you get. You just might surprise yourself!

In my next article, I will show you how went from having a 260 dollar monthly light bill to a 60 dollar light bill-Pretty impressive huh??

Resources

• Buy Eco Friendly
• Trees as a renewable resource
• Hybrid Trees
• Trees and Paper
• They still think recycling doesn`t save trees
• Wind Power isn`t perfect

Business Coaches are trained not just to tell you what you need, but to give you direction and even a plan on what to do in case of an emergency. Here are 5 cool things a business coach brings you and your business,

1. Sift through the rubble-Had an emotional setback? Trying to make it after a major failure? Coaches will work with you to sift through the ruins and pick up what is valuable. No failure is ever final and she can be the one to help you get it together. Getting out of your rut can mean you are giving your business fresh momentum to start again!
2. Business road map to success-Regardless of how good you think you are doing, you could be doing better. No one expects you to know it all but having a coach will shed some light on what you need to know and how its application in your business will create profit.
3. Find the McGiver in you-Getting creative with your talents is hard! The best way that I can put it is how McGiver would break out of jail with a paper clip and a piece of string. He would diversify, reinvent and strategize to accomplish whatever goal he had to accomplish that day. Unless you are that bright all on your own, then you need a coach.
4. Keeping your eye on the prize-Sometimes people forget that working at home, may mean actually working. Or that being your own boss, is not about self abuse but more about commitment and taking your business seriously. After all, if there is no goal to achieve, then why are you doing this?
5. The proof is in the $$$- Oh yes, the measure of profitable success! Implementing your coach`s advice will in fact make you profitable and more apt to take on bigger and better challenges. Your confidence will grow and you will be able to build a career on your accomplishments. If your coach`s advice does not yield greenbacks, then what are you doing?? Are you implementing her advice? Then, obviously, you don`t need a coach. You also don`t need to be your own boss.

Business coaches see what you can`t. From slacking on the job to lack of commitment, they can guide you out of your rut. I can honestly say, my coach Michelle from Women Who WOW, has been the one to pull me out of many funks and whine and cheese parties. I have implemented many of her suggestion, only to see my business triple.

Both multimillion dollar companies used the same graphics. This faux pas depreciates their brand.

Don`t get me wrong, from a designer`s perspective, it`s great to see your stuff in print. But mass producing illustrations depreciates your value as artist and even more so to their branding.

Crikey!!

Companies can grow overnight, becoming multimillion dollar giants and their tenure will be short lived when at least part of that sale depends on the branding already established. If a sale is commenced, the symbol that represents that company better be as valuable as the company itself.

This is a lot like the guy who goes out with dirty and ripped undies and he has an accident. I am almost sure that the nurses won`t laugh at the holes and stains- that much.

I wonder if any plastic surgeons have thought of using the McDonald`s logo for their breast enhancement practice. McDoctors! I thought of other ones and they were not proper.

Plastic surgery anyone??

So here are 8 things you need to be (or learn how to do) to maintain your website successfully. (Notice I didn`t say “hire.” You could, however these are things you can learn easily.)

1. e-Marketing Expert-More than just defining your market target and advertising campaigns, you will need to learn how to e-market to your audience that is already on the web.  An example of a great campaign was president elect`s Barack Obama. He used all venues of communication available to him, from Twitter to YouTube, to communicate his message. The result? A successful worldwide campaign that will forever be registered in history. Should you do it? Yes, the quicker the better!
2. Accountant-This one is SOOO easy. Well, software will do this for you! Bypassing your accountant is actually possible if you use software like Intuit`s Quickbooks to keep track of sales, expenses and even payroll. Of course, I would have an accountant double check it, but this is certainly doable.
3. Data Entry-Probably the one I hate most, without data entry, there will be nothing on your site. This encompasses product entry, site and blog content entry and upkeep. Besides being time consuming, it`s boring and tidious. Someone`s got to do it and it might as well be you.
4. Shipping Department-I absolute love that commercial where a new employee is taught how to ship online and his excuse not to do it is “Yeah, I have an M.B.” There are two things you have to worry about in this department. One, presentation. When the client opens that box are they going to say “WOW! I am ordering from them again!” or “What is that oil stain from?” Two, affordability. After seeing many stores adjust their shipping fees so people will purchase their items, you have to wonder how they are doing it. Hint: The bigger the company shipping your item, the likeliness they will treat your precious shipment like, well, it`s not so precious.
   

   Package your goods so well, that they could be photographed for a magazine.

5. Purchasing Manager/Trend Researcher-If you are offering a service, trend researcher would apply to you. Keeping up with the competition means keeping a sharp eye out for all of those things that may sway markets one way over the other, not just what the competition is selling. Even being eco conscious will mean that perhaps your luxurious imported wrapping paper will be not so popular. Another example,-studied a few years back when snow boarding suddenly grew in popularity (I always thought it was popular!):)-was that accessories for a particular sport would be hot selling items if the sport`s popularity grew. Once the niche reached its saturation point, the “extras” were no longer hot and sales dwindled.
6. Social Networker- It`s a little like marketing for Web 2.0. Whether you know what Web 2.0 is or not, this is a definite most do for anyone who wants to BRAND themselves to the masses or to a niche. Networking creates your presence on the web will deter anyone wishing to “soil your good name.” This is not just an extra step, and there are many virtual assistants that offer this service.
7. SEO Expert-Search engine optimization is very important. Getting creative when writing your keywords and keeping up with the search engine algorithms can be exhausting. It`s so important, many companies offering the same service, will step on MY TOES after I set up my clients. Their downfall? I have already warned my clients about THEM!! Their latest? My client tells me they said:”Your browser title tags has 72 characters when only 70 is the maximum.” Really??? Does “information age” mean anything to anyone? When it comes to this, I would pay for someone to teach me, not to do it for me. It`s so easy, my poodle can do it. Get the info right from the source and not from a company who calls you at work (or home).


Browser Title Tags Guidelines as of Nov. 2008 Cited from Planet Ocean. "DUH!!! Your title tags are awful long! Like by two characters!"

8. Copywriter-This would be beneficial, if you can`t write to hire someone to do that for you. But if you can, copywriting is the life of your site. Content is king and you need this as much as you need oxygen. Just keep in mind that if you do decide to hire a copywriter, give her your keywords.

Honorary Mention-Photographer. If window shopping could be done on the web, it would be through your photographs. Buying a light box and being able to retouch them will allow you to have gorgeous pics without a photographer.

But because obviously that is not realistic, here are 10 tips to “spread the word” on your logo,

1. Iconize that- Yep everywhere you go, you are asked to upload a picture or an icon to your profile. So why not a mini version of your logo? It`s the simplest way to go when telling people your brand rocks.
2. Be your own avatar- A little different than an icon, an avatar is a mini YOU. So if you had an illustration made to your likeness, you may want to grace the pages of your facebook with you  illustrated.
   

   Ruta Fox, owner of Divine Diamonds NY makes an illustrated appearance with her sexy and sassy avatar

3. Master (or mistress) of your MySpace-Regardless of the social network you have chosen to deck out in your “business attire”, business pages always look better branded with your logo and graphics that match your site. When consistency is key, make sure ALL of your graphics at least have the same theme.
   

   My MySpace page all decked out.

4. Email me pretty-Yes, even your email can have all the wrappings of your site and more. Why send a plain email? You could be sending links to your store, blog and even social network pages inviting them to further interact with you. The very action of emailing your identity within your email, establishes rapport with your receiver, thus creating branding and clearing the way for a possible sale!
5. Show me your badge!- Have you ever gotten a glittery badge wishing you a happy day? Why not have one with your LOGO? This is just another way in which you can send someone a nice sentiment, branded with your logo.
6. Adorn your Sign up box-That`s right! if you`ve got the right designer, he or she will know how to make your sign up more that pretty, but so cute everyone will want to sign up.
   

   Please enter your name- You know you want to!!

7. You are my Fave!- Favicons are another way to make that branding stick. They come in a variety of styles from animated to scrolling with text. Pick a style and brand!
8. Background graphics- That background may not be the same one in your site, but it surely can carry your message. I love Old Navy`s background repetition of their initials. It`s a bit subliminal, yet effective at delivering what they intended, their branding into your head.
9. Your e-John Hancock please-Okay besides what you may be thinking, I really mean your signature. Forums and networks allow users to create sigs, an image with your information and hyperlinked to your site. Do I have to say what you could be doing with it??? I think you get the idea.:D
10. A different kind of Icon- From RSS feeds to email me graphics, these can all have a little something that makes it feel like they belong to your site. They are easily recognizable and maintain that much needed continuity.

I apologize for being repetitious, but if there is something you must do when creating branding, is trying to keep as much consistency within all the pages that have your name. Happy branding!

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… C: wait… SD: wait…