A New Blogging Challenge Starts Today!

After I finished (barely) the June Blogging Challenge, I really slacked off keeping up with my blog.  Who knows why, since I absolutely love blogging, but I did.  So when I learned from a friend, Cindy Clemens, of My Business Marketing Mentor, last night about a new challenge, I knew I better sign myself up!  Of course, in my mind, I was trying to tell myself that I wasn't ready for another challenge, and that I had made a personal commitment to be more consistent with my blogging, but the truth is, I have been saying that for weeks now and it hasn't happened yet, so this is a great way to keep myself accountable.

It is also an excellent way to find new blogs to follow, people to network with, and friends to make, as well as learn some useful tips and tricks about blogging, business, and life.  In addition to that, it also keeps me up-to-date with my Twitter posts--another item that has been on hiatus this month.  Which is really not smart, especially when I created a new Twitter account right before I slacked off. 

If you have ever considered joining a Blogging Challenge, I highly recommend giving this a try.  What do you have to lose?  Each post only needs to be 100 words, and you simply write 31 posts during the month of August, tweet them to the Blog Challenge list, and Voila! You've completed a blog challenge!!

If you decide to join, let me know so that we can support one another as it is harder than you would  think to post something new every day, and by the end of the month, it's a race just to get it done!!  I hope some of you will accept the challenge and join me!

Of course, I'll be doing some serious brain-storming to come up with new and interesting things to talk about....if anyone has a topic they'd like me to write on, please let me know!!  I'm up for any and all ideas!

Until Next Time, Dream Large.....

A Day in Jerome, AZ

Hello All & Happy Monday!  I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!!  Russell and I decided to go to Jerome, AZ Saturday to get out of the heat and do some shopping.  If you are ever in Arizona, Jerome is a must-see destination!!  Many say it is haunted and that is a huge draw for a lot of people.  Russell and I, however, absolutely love walking the town, visiting the shops, and having a nice lunch.  

Jerome is home to many artists, and if you are ever looking for an original piece of artwork or one-of-a-kind jewelry, clothing, etc., and love meeting the artist, this is the place to go! 

We also made reservations to stay at The Surgeon's House the first Saturday of October for Art Walk.  It's an amazing event that occurs the first Saturday of every month, and is incredible!!  We have to wait until October because Andrea, the owner of The Surgeon's House was booked until then.  And we insist on staying with her when we are there because her home and her property are only outdone by Andrea herself. 

Here are some pics from our day in Jerome.  Trust me when I say they do not do the town justice, but it's what I've got....Enjoy!!!

That's it for now!  In October, I will add some more pics, and perhaps better descriptions....but hope you enjoyed what I had!  

What's your "little-known" hot-spot??  

Crazy Crazy Life & Other Musings from my week

Happy Thursday Everyone!

First, I would like to apologize for being non-existent this week.  I would love to have a really great reason for not posting anything new since the 4th of July, but the truth is that I had one of those weeks where life just got away from me. 

My kids went to Oregon to see their grandparents, but for some reason, their teenage drama seemed to not only follow them there, but somehow managed to elevate and affect me here as well.  So much for my Independence Day, but that's the life of a parent. 

In addition to the kids, I also had an emergency medical issue with Peaches, my awesome orange cat.  He was acting strange on Thursday, and when he was still not "right" on Friday, I took him to the vet.  He had developed crystals in his bladder and could not pee.  Simple enough, right??  NOT!  He has been in the hospital for 6 days now, and we are keeping our fingers crossed and praying that he will pull through.  We had to make a painful decision to give him through tomorrow to recover....In my mind, I know that he is a cat; in my heart, he is so much more.  We have been spending as much time with him as we can, but it is so hard because outside of this issue, and the catheters and fluid lines, he is still his sweet and funny self.  From his attitude, you wouldn't even know he was sick. 

Here he is before they had to add the gigantic cone on his head because he kept pulling out his catheter, and he'd chewed through his fluid line in his leg....but he let me take his picture.  He looks thrilled huh?

So, this is my "excuse" for not posting this week.  Hopefully, I'll get back on board and back to my schedule!
I have lots of stuff to write about in the next week--from Networking events to Biz Tips to a photographic journey through Jerome, Arizona!

STAY TUNED!!

Friday Featured Biz presents "Savings Corner"

Friday Featured Biz

This week completely got away from me and I found myself scrambling last night to get my featured biz lined up for today.  Thankfully, Tina from Savings Corner, came through for me.  So Thank You Tina!! 

Tina is one of those women I admire...she really knows how to save money using coupons, discount codes and sales.  While I LOVE a good sale, I am really pretty lazy with coupons.  However, Savings Corner really gives me no excuse not to make a better effort.  Everything is laid out so you can easily find what you are looking for--from coupons to contests to rebates and sales...in every category imaginable!  How simple to pop by her site, check for a discount code or coupon, and be informed before you shop!!!

Here is what Tina has to say about her business:

"My name is Tina, aka "The Coupon Lady" and I am  the Owner/Author of Savings Corner (http://www.savingscorner.org), a website designed to share with families the power of coupons.  In today's economy, coupons matched up with sales from major retail stores can make a strong impact on your budget and overall quality of life.  How?  Obviously, coupons save you money (and I mean TONS of money ... not just face value!) and that affects your budget.  And in turn, the savings can aid in the quality of your life ... having more money to purchase the necessities in life (and the "wants"!) and being able to save gives your family a sense of financial security.  Now that is power!

Savings Corner will provide you with the tools to "arm yourself" for shopping success by providing you with coupon and sales match ups for major retail stores every week, links to printable coupons, links to e-coupons, freebies and samples.  But most of all, I equip families with the knowledge and information needed to shop with confidence!

Savings Corner and other small businesses (whether on-line or your mom and pops local grocery store down the road) depend on the encouragment and faithful support of others.  For me, I show support for other coupon savings websites by sharing deals and linking back to their website, encouraging the author of other websites by leaving uplifting and encouraging comments and by offering my help and support whenever I can.  Also, getting to know your local owners of small businesses and developing that "personal" relationship is very important for maintaining a sense of loyalty.  I believe the way to a successful business is to treat others the way you want them to treat you; respecting them as a person and as a small business owner with honesty and integrity.

I would love for you to visit my website, take a look around and become a follower.  With Savings Corner, you will learn how to "Buy more. Save more. Spend Less!"

Stop by and show your support for Tina!  She is providing a truly incredible and time-saving service that even people like me can use!!  Don't go shopping before you check with Tina to see if she has a discount you can use!!

You can connect with her on Twitter and Facebook as well!!  

http://www.twitter.com/savingscorner
http://facebook.com/savingscorner

YES! I finished the 30-Day Blog Challenge!!

Okay, so this is the final post of the 30-Day Blog Challenge!!  I heard about the challenge after only one week of blogging...and I thought, "hey!  I can write 30 blogs in 30 days..."  So I decided to sign up. 

Let me tell you (or perhaps you already know), this is not as easy as it sounds.  I originally started my blog as a way to talk introduce people to my products and my business opportunity.  I quickly found, however, that no one, myself included, wants to read a blog that is completely devoted to a home business--or any other single topic.

I decided instead to write about my life and all the wonderful, frustrating, crazy, awesome people, places, and things that make up who I am.  There is always something going on around here that I can turn into a funny, useful, or meaningful story. 

I also started a new feature for my blog called, "Friday Featured Biz" where I feature one small business owner each Friday on my blog.  Through my networking events, I have met the most incredible and dynamic people and have taken my appreciation of small business to a whole new level. This has been a great feature for me, and I hope, as I continue to blog, my followers will grow and these businesses will get some new clients through me.

Today I found myself 3 posts behind on the Challenge, and almost threw in the towel.  Another friend messaged me on Facebook and encouraged me to finish the Challenge.  I decided that she was right--how silly to go this far just to give up at the last minute.  So, here I am, pounding out this final post so I can get it sent out and can run out the door to another Networking Event!!! 

With that, I will say goodnight!  My goal is to continue writing new articles 4 times per week, so you will see me either tomorrow or Friday for sure!  I have another fabulous small business to feature on Friday, so if I don't see you before, I hope to see you then!!

Until Next Time....

Friday Featured Biz! Next Level Consulting & Virtual Ass't Services

It's Friday!!!  Which means it's time for this week's Friday's Featured Biz!

This week, I am honored to introduce you to another awesome lady I have become friends with through this wonderful world of Social Media!  I am always amazed at the people I have "met" through Facebook, MySpace, (yes, I have had a MySpace account--I have teenagers--it's a must!) and now Blogging.  The internet really does make the world a much smaller place, and open us up to people, places, & things we might not otherwise have a chance to experience.

This week, I would like to introduce Lisa Rodriguez with Next Level Consulting & Virtual Assistant Services.  Not only does she provide Small Biz Consulting Services, but her blog is filled with awesome tips, tricks, and links!  

This is what Lisa had to say:

Next Level Consulting & Virtual Assistant Services

 

"Next Level Consulting & Virtual Assistance is a small business consulting and virtual assistance firm that specializes in helping coaches, consultants, speakers and other online entreprenuers create productive businesses, while maximizing their internet presence and revenues.   Collectively our background spans over 24 years as both office and virtual professionals providing administrative and business support.  Our team members are willing to show initiative and play more of a “partner” role vs. simply taking care of specific tasks. 

 

I choose small/online-based businesses as my niche market because I firmly believe this market in particular is poised for the most growth in the next five years.  The current state of the economy and a shaky job market has been a catalyst for more and more of the "downsized" to take a risk and pursue their dream of working from home.  It offers flexibility, especially for those with families and the earning potential is not limited by your perceived value at a large firm.  Trends are emerging that indicate more and more people are on the internet, not in front of their television sets - and they are all searching for ways to create income.  And they also all have the same issue in common - they need support in their efforts.  I really enjoy partnering with entrepreneurs to help them achieve success with their businesses.

 

I also believe supporting other home-based business owners - not just my clients.  I offer business promotion on both my website, as well as my newsletter free of charge.  I love how social media and networking opens opportunities you might otherwise not have had.  Watching that happen for others is what makes my "job" so rewarding."

 

Be sure to check out Lisa's Blog, and tell her Happy Birthday while you are there--her birthday was yesterday, June 24, which I just discovered.  Also, make sure you join her Facebook Fan Page!  She provides such awesome information, you won't want to miss a thing!

 

If you are looking for some great biz tips or if you are in need of a Virtual Assistant (aren't we all sometimes???) or Consulting, consider talking to Lisa and finding out how she can help you grow your business, manage your time, and de-stress your life!  

Thank you, Lisa, for this awesome post, for the service you provide, and for being a part of Friday Featured Biz!

Please remember to Support the Small Business Owners in your community and online!

Launching "Friday Featured Biz!!"

Proud to announce the Launching of "Friday Featured Biz!"  

 I am thrilled to be kicking off my Friday Featured Biz with Lindsay of Happy Housewife Designs!!  She designed my awesome new blog with professionalism, dedication, and patience!!  And for a price that the "big guys" couldn't touch!!

Without further ado, here is what Lindsay has to say about her business, Happy Housewife Designs, and about the importance of supporting small business owners....

"When Lesa told me that she wanted to feature me on her blog I was so flattered.  I mean I knew she loved her design but enough to do a whole post on me!  Wow!

Like a lot of moms I started my business because I wanted to do something that not only helped with the family income but also gave me something that I loved to do.  I told myself when I started out that I would "try it" and see where it goes.  After a year of learning and several nights of wanting to throw my computer through the window I got there.  I was a designer.  I had taken the time which was usually during naps and once everyone was in bed asleep to learn, practice, and make design after design on my own personal blog.  Then I opened up my business and have been so happy to be able to help other mom bloggers out by giving them a design they love at an affordable price.

I love working with other bloggers.  Because you run into so many other moms that are in some kind of business and there are so many great products out there.  I think its great that we have been given an outlet to let us do what we love from our home and while we raise our kids.  I love being contacted by other mom bloggers who have great products that they believe in and want to share.  I just bought an IPhone cover from one of these mom shops and it saved my phones life the other day when I dropped it (don't tell the hubby).  But that would never be something that I could find in a regular store.  I know they have cases but this case was cute and at a great price.

So come stop by my design shop and maybe even enter a giveaway (we have a HUGE one coming in July).  I promise you will end up with a design you love and maybe even find a new blogger BFF like I have found my in great friend Lesa!"

Lindsay and I spent a lot of  time talking, both on the phone, as well as via email.  She took the time to answer my endless questions, and was dedicated to getting my blog exactly the way I wanted it!  Better than that?  I really have made a friend!  

So, the next time you need a total blog make-over, or simply a tweak to your current design, please consider Lindsay for your next project!!

Thank you for reading, and for supporting the small business owner, where your business really is appreciated!!

****To have your small biz featured, please send me an email at LesaSpeaksOut@gmail.com, with the subject line "Featured Biz" and let me know!  The "rules" are simple...write a paragraph about your business and services/products, and another paragraph about why supporting small business is important to you, and how you personally support small business either online or in your community.  

That's it.  My goal is to get everyone involved in supporting each other and keep our businesses growing!!  And hey!  If you make a friend through the process, let me know!!****

Thanks for reading, and for supporting Lindsay in her dream of staying home to care for her son while running her own business!!

Until Next Time....  

Small-Town Shopping hidden in the City!!

As promised in yesterday's post, and in honor of the kick-off to my Friday Featured Business, I will be taking you on a "tour" of Catlin Court.  Yesterday afternoon, I grabbed my daughter and my camera and went to a little district, 2 blocks off a main street in the City of Glendale, Arizona, where "Mom & Pop" Shops are alive, and if not flourishing, determined to survive!! 

Because pictures really are worth 1000 words, this will be largely a photographic journey back in time.  Where people are happy to see you, the yards are lush, green, and maintained.  Where there is an air of peace and tranquility.  Where these people are devoted to keeping their businesses alive in this unstable economic time.  

As one shop owner said to me, "I've been here 18 years.  I do it out of love."


Off we go....

First Stop--a trip to Halo to visit my friend Ronda

and get Taylor's nails done!!

In case you can't tell, Taylor didn't like it at all....

After Ronda, we walked directly next door to....

Where we spent a few minutes talking to Shelley, who is one amazing lady!!!  

You can't buy this quality in a grocery store!!

This is my kind of cookie!!!

The store across the street was closed, 

but worthy of a picture!!

Down the street we go....almost every store is a converted house on tree-lined streets that make you feel right at home....check out these pics.....

I had so much fun, and even Taylor had to admit that there really is something special about this place.  I have so many fantastic pictures...of all the incredible merchandise inside the stores & more of the outside...Believe it or not, there are over 80 businesses in this district!!

I think, however, that I will save them for another day.  I do want to leave you with a couple final thoughts.  

First, I have been to this district only two times in recent history.  (Yes, I am guilty of choosing convenience over character.  A flaw I am working very hard at correcting.)  Yet, there are shop owners who already recognize my face, and are happy to see me.  They introduce me to other shop owners who wander in, and love to tell stories about all the awesome things to do in their beautiful little corner of the world!!

I ask you:  When is the last time you walked into Wal-Mart and someone, not only recognized you, but was happy to see you, and talked to you like a long-time friend?  If that happens to you, I need to shop at your Wal-Mart, because it does not happen at mine!!

Next time you need a unique gift, or just have the urge to do a little window-shopping, search out that hidden gem in your city....and give your business to the people who deserve it.  And who will give it back ten-fold.

Thanks to the shop-owners who allowed my camera and my questions...and thank to you, for going on this tour with me.  

Until Next Time.....

New Blog is Ready to Kick Off "Featured Business Friday!!!"

When Lindsay (who runs Happy Housewife Designs) was putting together my blog--no easy feat, I am sure--she asked me to come up with the titles for my pages.

Because I am a woman of many words, I wanted to be able to create a blog where people could come and easily find the information they were looking for--whether it be to laugh at my crazy family life, commiserate with being a mother of a teenager, check out pics of my zoo, learn a biz tip or two, read about the Featured Businesses I support, learn about my favorite designer discount sites & links I love, or perhaps find out more about my home business.

I am one of those impatient ADD kinda people who, if I cannot quickly find what I am looking for, will either give up, or, more likely, get distracted by another feature of the blog, and forget why I was there in the first place!!  I figured there might be more people out  there like me, so I am trying to keep it as simple as possible.

Like my Tagline suggests, this blog, which started out for my home business, has quickly evolved into a place for me to write about "Life and The In-between!"  If there is ever a subject you would like me to research and blog about, let me know!!  I am always open for ideas!!

Also, I would like to remind you all about Featured Business Friday!!!  It will kick off this coming Friday with the Lovely Lindsay, who designed this blog...and then will feature one, possibly two, small businesses per week (largely depending on the response from my readers!!)

If you would like to have your business featured on my blog, here's the scoop!!

Leave me a comment with your name, your blog name and url, a sentence or two about what your business offers, and another sentence or two about why you believe supporting small business is so important, and what you do in your life to promote that, either in your community or online.

***Deal Breaker:  Because I am doing the Featured Business promotion in order to remind others how important it is to support the small business owner, if you do not tell me why you believe supporting the little guy is important to you, and what you do personally to support the little guy, I cannot feature your business.  I cannot stress how important this is to me, so please don't forget to add that info in your comment!!***

Tips, Tricks, & Links for Building Your Business Online

Look at the perks of shopping small business!

Before I get into my blog of the day, I want to first thank everyone who has stopped by to show support for my new Featured Business plan.  The response has been great and I really appreciate it!  For those of you who have expressed an interest in featuring your business, I will get it formalized and started as soon as my new blog design is finished--hopefully next week!  I will be in touch as soon as I get it going!

For anyone who did not catch my Featured Business post, please read my blog from June 8 for details on how you can be a Featured Business right here!  

In the Spirit of Promoting Small Business, I have a question:

What have you done this week to support a small business either in your area or online?

Today, I am simply going to list some websites that I find useful for tips on building your business, enhance your social media, and help get you noticed.

Some of these sites I have used already, some I am planning on using, and some I simply think look like they are worth checking out!  If you find one on here that leaves you scratching your head and wondering why I would promote it, just move down the line...I "guarantee" you will discover a new resource or learn some tips & tricks that are helping others take their business to the next level, and might be able to help the rest of us as well!!  

As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information.
- Benjamin Disraeli 

So, let's get out there and grab some new, and possibly transforming, information!!  Here are just a few sites that I have found useful....if you have one that you think needs to be added to this list, please put it in a comment and I'll check it out and try to get it up here!!  

Free Social Media Help Great info on optimizing your use of Twitter, Facebook, & More...

Know 'Em describes their service as "KnowEm allows you to check for the use of your brand, product, personal name or username instantly on over 350 popular and emerging social media websites. Grab your name and secure your brand before someone else does."  

Google Insights for Search find out what searches people are doing on Google in your area of business.

Chef Patrick  Great resource for "regular" people trying to build a business through blogging.  Lots of good stuff to check out!!  I highly recommend subscribing!  No tech-talk here....just simple ways to increase your exposure and get the most out of your blogging experience!

Daily Blog Tips  Another invaluable resource for everyday people trying to make their mark!!

Okay, so I am guessing that this list will keep you busy for at least a little while!  I know they are going to keep me busy!!  

On that note, I am going to leave you for today, but I will be back with more great tips and resources on building your business soon!!  

Sign up for my email and follow my blog so you don't miss any updates!!  You never know what you might miss--it could be that one resource that really explodes your business!!

And remember, to be a Featured Business on my blog, read the post from June 8 to learn more!

Until next time, Happy Blogging!! 

"Reality is the mirror of your thoughts. Choose well what you put in front of the mirror."

--Remez Sasson

Dream Large & Expect Success!!