Free Advertising for Your Woman Owned Business

Today I have two free offers for you.

1. Gain exposure for your business with a free business listing in the A Woman in Business Women Owned Business Directory.

2. Increase Business by Communicating Your Credibility - Free Teleseminar
During this information-packed presentation you will learn important factors to increasing your credibility, which will almost automatically increase your business. The main topics covered include: how to truly know your audience, understanding the three C's of credibility, and discovering what specific materials you’ll need when presenting to your particular target market or audience.

Enjoy!


Erica Brooks
Home Business Success Resources


More Freebies for Home Busines Owners:
Business Plan How-To- Free sample buisness plans.
Professional Websites in Less than 30 Minutes - Free 10 day trial.
More Free Business Tools

Time Management Tips Thursday Thirteen Post 2

Here are 13 time management tips to help you to use your time wisely to get important tasks done!

1…. Plan daily. Each night write down the top five most important tasks that you would like to accomplish the next day.

2…. Prioritize. List your top five tasks in order of importance and stick to completing each task in order.

3…. Set realistic times for each project. Don't set a goal to fold five loads of laundry in 15 minutes! Anything is possible but is it realistic?

4…. Stop multi-tasking. Do one task well, then move on to the next.

5…. Clear clutter. One of the biggest time wasters is looking for something amongst a pile of clutter.

6…. Delegate. You don't have to do everything. Focus on the most important tasks of the day and allow others to handle the rest.

7…. Reduce distractions. Let the answering machine answer calls. Get up an hour earlier while everyone else is sleeping to get important tasks done.

8…. Sort mail immediately. When you go to your traditional mailbox or check your email, toss out or delete what is not important and take action on what is important.

9…. Use a timer. You can get an inexpensive egg timer at your local grocery store. If you schedule 15 minutes to perform a task, when the timer goes off stop what you are doing and move on to your next task.

10...Use a day planner. Writing things down helps you to stay organized and manage important tasks. You could forget something when you rely on your memory.

11….Throw out old magazines. Tear out articles you wish to keep. Place the articles in plastic sheet protectors and put them in a 3 ring binder. This will keep all of your articles in one place and save you alot of time flipping through advertisements to get to what you want to read.

12….Outsource. Hire outside sources to handle jobs that take up time that you could be using to focus on important tasks.

13….Turn off the t.v.! Alot of valuable time is wasted watching television when you could be doing something more productive.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Have a successful day!

Erica
Home Business Success Resources

Local Business Advertising Ideas

For those of us who conduct most of our business online, we sometimes forget to tap into our local market also. Here are a few local business advertising ideas that will help you to market your home based or small business out in the "real world."


1. Get business cards
This may seem like a no brainer, but many people, especially those with online businesses, skip this basic step.

2. Write, or have written, a press release
Once you have a quality press release written, submit it to local television and radio stations along with any local magazines and other publications. Remember however, that there are specific guidelines in how you submit them so be sure to do your homework and send it in the way they ask in order to get better results. If you need help, click here for free press release writing tips.

3. Join your local Chamber of Commerce
Yes, you will more than likely have to pay an annual fee, but it can be worth it. The networking opportunities alone in some areas will help drum up business. There are also various publications that go out to new members of the community, businesses, etc. with a list of all the businesses in the Chamber.

4. Participate in local Networking Groups
Meetup.com is a great place to find local home based and small business networking groups to share your ideas and your business with. You can get lots of word of mouth referrals as well as give some to help others to grow their business. It's a win-win situation.


Have a successful day!


Erica
Home Business Success Resources

Home Business Idea-New Mom Errand Service

For some people, especially new moms, errands take up time that they would rather spend doing something else- like sleeping or tending to their little one. Other moms have trouble getting around or lack reliable transportation. Many of these people would gladly pay someone to run their errands for them. That someone could be you. Learn how...


Have a successful day!


Erica
Home Business Success Resources

Women with a Purpose Business Expo Press Release

For immediate release
Erica Brooks
A Woman in Business
(301)351-7586
awomaninbusiness@gmail.com

A Woman in Business Celebrates and Supports

Women Owned Businesses in Prince Georges County

Greenbelt, MD – September 24, 2007- A Woman in Business and Galore! Event Management announces Women with a Purpose Business Expo to be held on Saturday, November 3, 2007 at Martins Crosswinds, 7400 Greenway Center Drive, Greenbelt, MD 20770 from 10am until 4pm.

The purpose of the expo is to celebrate and support women owned businesses and aspiring Entrepreneurs in Prince George and surrounding counties in Maryland. Women will learn how to start their own home based or small business and how to be more successful in their current business.

This all day event includes dynamic speakers conducting seminars in areas covering business goal setting, networking, marketing, business image, time management, grants and more. Also on hand will be more than 30 businesses showcasing their products and services as well as offering business advice. Door prizes including an iPod Nano Special Edition to Help Fight HIV/AIDS in Africa will be awarded.

About A Woman in Business and Galore Event Management
For five years A Woman in Business (http://www.awibexpo.com/) has been helping women who want to spend more time with their families find the opportunity to do so with home based business opportunities, legitimate work at home jobs, business training, networking and business success resources. Our network is comprised of women business owners from various backgrounds and experience levels who are willing to lend support to fellow business women in our community. Galore! Event Management (http://www.galoreevents.com/) is a woman-owned event planning and management company with over 10 years of experience. Galore! handles both corporate and social events from conferences to product launches to baby showers and weddings. Galore! strives to ease the stress of planning a spectacular event by taking precise care of every detail from the initial planning stages to clean-up after the event has concluded.

Goal Setting for Small Business Success

Welcome. I hope that you all are winding down from a wonderful weekend.

Any successful small business owner will tell you that setting goals is a very important part of their success. Goals serve as a roadmap. Without them, you will never know if you are accomplishing new things or growing in your business. Click here for free tips on how to set realistic achieveable goals for small business success.


Have a successful day.


Erica
Home Business Success Resources

Your Perfect and Profitable Business Free Home Business Guide

Today for Business Freebie Friday, i'd like to offer you a free home business guide-Your Perfect and Profitable Business, which will help you to discover the secrect to using your passion to start a profitable business. Click here to get your free guide.

Have a great weekend!


Erica
Home Business Success Resources

More Freebies for Home Busines Owners:
Free Sample of Folgers Gourmet Selections Coffee
Professional Websites in Less than 30 Minutes - Free 10 day trial.
More Free Business Tools

Personal Development for Success Thursday Thirteen Post 1

This is the first edition of my Thursday Thirteen so I thought what better way for me to start it off than by listing one of my personal favorites- Personal Development!

Whether you are in business or not personal development is necessary. It helps you to learn about yourself, teaches you how to deal more effectively with others and is great for building relationships.

Here are Thirteen Personal Development books I am enjoying and I hope you will too:

1…. The Bible

2…. Discerning the Voice of God by Pricilla Shirer

3…. Positive Words, Powerful Results by Hal Urban

4…. The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman

5…. Brining Out the Best in People by Alan Loy

6…. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

7…. The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkenson

8…. Unstoppable Confidence by Kent Sayre

9…. What to Say When You Talk to Yourself by Shad Helmstetter

10...Now Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham

11….Personality Plus by Florence Littauer

12….The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

13….Keys to Success by Napoleon Hill

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Have a successful day!

Erica
Home Business Success Resources

Increase Business by Communicating Your Credibility Teleseminar

Starting last month I decided to give A Woman in Business a total makeover. I've cleaned it up, added tons of resources, products and services as well as got more focused on it's purpose of providing valuable resources to women who want to work at home, start their own business or be more successful in their current business.

While on my search for valuable resources I came across Communication Transformation, where Communication Consultant and Coach, Felicia Slattery teaches business owners how to communicate more effectively to incease sales. Communicating your products and services clearly to your target market will keep you focused and produce phenomenal business growth.

Join Felicia as she conducts Increase Business by Communicating Your Credibility Teleseminar for A Woman in Business visitors on Thursday September 20, 2007 at 8:00PM EST.

The teleseminar will cover:

• How to truly know your audience
• Understanding the three C's of credibility
• Discovering what specific materials you’ll need when presenting to your particular target market or audience

The teleseminar is free. Click here to register.


Have a successful day!


Erica Brooks
Home Business Success Resources

More Home Business Education Seminars and Courses
The Miracle of Self-Discipline Teleseminar
Small Business Training

Get Organized for Business Success

As a mom who runs her business from home, it's easy to let chores fall by the wayside sometimes. I have a tendency to hold on to paper and keep things in piles but today I decided to take on 5 minutes for Mom’s “Tackle it Tuesday Challenge” and tackled my office today!

Here's the before:

Here's the After:

Ok. so I am still working on my piles addiction but overall I decluttered and gain alot of clarity to get the goals I have set for myself today accomplished!

Leave a comment and let me know what tasks you have tackled today to move your business forward!

Have a successful day!

Erica
Home Business Success Resources

Home Business Idea of the Week - Online Talk Radio Show Business

If you have ever dreamed of becoming the next Oprah Winfrey and having a popular talk show, then starting a online talk radio show or podcast could be a great business for you.

Getting Started

With an online talk radio show or podcast, you can choose any format you wish; you can simply use the air time to give out your opinions, recommendations, or tips on a subject. Another idea is to have a co-host or weekly guests that provide expertise or knowledge on various topics.

Start Up Costs

The costs of starting your own radio talk show or podcast are relatively inexpensive. Audio Acrobat, a monthly subscription service, allows you to record a radio talk show using a computer microphone or your phone.

The service will host the audio for you, so you don’t need to worry about having enough disk space, as audio files can be quite large. The service allows you to stream your audio live over the internet with an audio player. You also have the option of including a link to the audio file and allowing your listeners to download the audio to their computer or Mp3 player.

How to Make Money with Your Online Talk Radio Show or Podcast

Similiar to traditional talk radio shows, you could monetize your show with paid sponsors and advertisers. Businesses could pay to have an ad on your program. You could also charge business owners a fee for being able to come onto your program and talk about their product or service. Your listeners would not know you were making money from the interview unless you told them.

Many people are podcast-crazy and love the fact that they can download these talk shows and listen to them at their leisure. They are already very popular and will continue to grow in popularity as more people buy Mp3 players. If you feel you have a decent speaking voice and would like to earn extra income, starting your own online talk radio show or podcast could be for you.



Resourses for Online Talk Radio Show or Podcast Business Success

Shoestring Radio & Podcasting -Take your great show idea and be broadcasting an internet radio program in just a short amount of time on a shoestring budget!
Podcasting How-To Articles and Tips
Blog Talk Radio
Audio Acrobat

Networking Success- Who Says Networking Can't be Fun?

I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend. Saturday I had the pleasure of attending The Inside Scoop- Ice Cream Networking Social at BoStudios in Crofton, MD.

Those in attendance were business women whose backgrounds were as diverse as their businesses including graphic designers, event planners, make-up artists, health and wellness consultants, accountants, beauty consultants and a host of others.

Each business owner had the opportunity to showcase their business to the group. Ms. Wooten, owner of Howerton & Wooten, LLC offered a interesting resource, ElevatorSpeech.com, which offers clear, concise and compelling ways for business owners to describe their business to someone in less than 30 seconds.

There was a enlightning discussion on ways to start and build a successful business, idea sharing, giveaways, donations to a local charity and scrumptious ice cream.

It was a great time had by all.

Have a successful day!

Erica Brooks
Home Business Success Resources


More Networking Resources
A Woman in Business Social Network
Small Business Networking for Women
Women with a Purpose Business Expo

Business Freebie Friday-Free Podcasting Basics Guide

Just as blogging swept the internet in the last few years, podcasting has become the new internet trend. You can find podcasts on all types of subjects, ranging from audio blogs, how-to information, interviews with experts, and more. Learn the basics of how to use this technology to promote your business with our FREE Podcasting Guide.

Enjoy!


Erica Brooks
Home Business Success Resources


More Freebies for Home Busines Owners:
Free Sample of Folgers Gourmet Selections Coffee
Professional Websites in Less than 30 Minutes - Free 10 day trial.
More Free Business Tools

Time Management Tips for Home Business Owners

As a Home Business Owner it is very easy to get distracted while conducting business online. You are repsonsible for networking, researching and a host of other tasks on a daily basis. So, how do you manage your time so that your business thrives? Here's a few basic tips to keep in mind when you sit down to your computer every day.


1. Prioritize: Create to-do lists either the night before or the very first thing each morning, make a list of the things you MUST get done that day. Then work your way down the list starting with the most important until you finish.

2. Stay Focused: Keep your business goals or a dream board posted of what you would like to acheive to help keep you, motivated and focused on your business priorities.

3. Use Timers: Determine how long you have to spend on certain tasks. Then set a timer when you start them. When the timer stops so do you! Now move on to the next task and do the same.

4. Break Things Down: Try breaking bigger tasks down into smaller ones that can easily be marked off your list so that even at a glance it seems like you've accomplished something.


A common problem among Home Business Owners is becoming overwhelmed and overworked. Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day and your business won't be either. Take your time and cut yourself some slack if you don't get everything accomplished as quickly as you had hoped in the beginning.

Click here for more Free Time Management Tips


Have a successful day!


Erica Brooks
Home Business Success Resources

The Miracle of Self Discipline Teleseminar

Owning a home busines is very rewarding and has many benefits. You can stay at home with your children, choose your own hours and basically spend your time doing what you love to do!

A big part of being successful working at home is having self-discipline. Without it your business is sure to suffer losses. Procrastination is known to be one of the biggest challenges that many business owners face because it is so easy to get distracted while working at home.

If you are facing the challenge of self-discipline check out best selling author, Brian Tracys teleseminar The Miracle of Self-Discipline. Learn how to practice higher levels of self-discipline and self-control in every area of your life.

Teleseminar takes place on September 26, 2007 at 10:00am PST. Click here for more information and to register.

Erica Brooks
Home Business Success Resources

Free Home Business Guide- Your Perfect and Profitable Business

When people tell me that they want to make money in their own home business but are not sure what they want to do or how to get started, the first thing that I ask them is what do they enjoy doing, what are they passionate about?

Owning a home business is about more than just making money. We can sit in an office working for someone else if we want to make money. Business ownership is about freedom, security and personal achievement. It's not easy running your own business. You have to wear many hats-manager, secretary, customer service representative, etc. When selecting a business to start, choose to do something that you are passionate about so that you will enjoy doing it and be able to stick to when times get tough. Owning your own home business is about doing what you love to do and making money at it.

Discover the secrets to using your passion to find the perfect business for you! Our FREE Home Business Guide includes techniques on discovering what your perfect business is, finding your niche, profitable business ideas and more. Click here to get your FREE report Your Perfect and Profitable Business emailed to you and get started in your own home based profitable business today!

Are Your Goals S.M.A.R.T?

Time and time again we hear that one of the keys to success is to set goals. Sounds easy enough right? Grab a pen and paper, add a little enthusiasm and voila- your on your way to making mucho dinero!! So if it's that easy, why aren't more small businesses thriving the way they should? One reason may be that they are not setting S.M.A.R.T Goals!

According to Business Philosopher Jim Rohn, S.M.A.R.T. Goals are:

Specific: Don't be vague. Exactly what do you want?
Measurable: Quantify your goal. How will you know if you've achieved it or not?
Attainable: Be honest with yourself about what you can reasonably accomplish at this point in your life - along with taking into consideration your current responsibilities.
Realistic: It's got to be do-able, real and practical.
Time: Associate a timeframe with each goal. When should you complete the goal?

Click here to read more about S.M.A.R.T. Goal Setting and how setting goals properly can take your business where you want it to go!