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Tools That Will Grow Your Business in 2011!

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I’m a Bargain Hunter.

I don’t know about you, but as a mom of twelve children, I have spent my life stretching our dollars by finding great sales. I have developed a sixth sense that helps me find bargains. When I find them, I love to share them with others to save them some leg work.

Well, as a business owner, I have done the same thing. When I found a great sale, I would stock up. I have spent 2010 learning a lot, and to do that I had to find the resources that contained the information I needed.

What I found is that there are plenty of people out there offering the latest greatest way to do just about everything. I am a work at home mom, and I  like to study and learn from home as well. Let me tell you, in 2010 I hit the jackpot when it comes to great resources.

It is the time of year when we are all thinking about sharing, and I was impressed that the creators of some of my favorite learning tools have
decided to offer some great year end sales. These sales end at the end
of the month, and next year there are price increases on many of them.

Deals for you to check out

I just want to take a minute to let you know about a couple of them so that you can get great deals on tools that will help you grow your business in 2011. You don’t have to spend all the time it took me to find them,  check them out to see  if any of them are the solution you need for your business.

  • I will start with the basics. I have talked a lot about starting your own blog. I know for a fact that is good advice, but if you are like me, you might wonder just what you can blog about. Then I heard about Lynette Chandlers site called Blog Energizer. She covers all the tricks of the trade for bloggers there, and offers inspiration and “how to” info there that will get your started on the right track
  • Sometimes I have drawn a blank when it comes to writing. If you are a blogger, that can hurt your business. The good news is that there are tools to get you through writers block. You can use PLR (Private Label Rights) to add great content to your website. the content is ready for your edits and you are done in minutes
  • I don’t want to overwhelm you, but I saved the best for last. I have been working with Kelly McCausey this year, and right now, she has one of the most amazing products at an unbelievable price. She is offering all the products she has ever created or will create. In addition to that, it includes 12 coaching sessions with her. Till the
    end of the year, she has added an unbelievable bonus. She threw in ten  hours of web design work! check out all the details here.

I hope that you save some money on these great services. I have all these on my list of things to put my business on the right track in 2011. I know and trust the quality of the products and services I recommend to you. I just want everyone to know that sometimes the links I provide are affiliate links, but I want to assure you that I only recommend things I know work.

Filed Under: make money, Raise Some Dough Tagged With: , , , , ,

Some Help for Your Recipe Blog

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Here are a few ideas to jump start your blog

If you are anything like me, your head may be spinning with all the information I have been giving you. After all, you just want to sell your
signature recipe item.  What does all this have to do with that?

I made the mistake of just jumping in without really knowing what exactly I wanted to do. In my mind, I just wanted everyone to order breakfast from my catering company. It seemed so simple, after all, so many people told me that I made the best cinnamon rolls in the world, and everything else I made was top notch as well.

With all that in my favor, people should just have been lining up to have the chance to buy my stuff. Let me tell you, it just did not happen that way. I had lots of friends who encouraged me, but they were not in the position to be my customers.

I had failed to get the word out to people who did not know me, and they were the ones who were in the position to become my customers if they had just known what I had to offer. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t have the “if you build it they will come” attitude.

I joined the Chamber of Commerce, Business groups, women’s groups, etc. I was out giving out samples, taking freebies to decision makers etc. I did all that and eventually, I built my business. It took several years before I had a pretty strong foundation of customers.

I know now, that I could have done less leg work, and been able to connect with far more people in much less time. If you set up your blog, and connect to the Social Media networks, you can spread the word so fast.

As people begin to know you (from your blog), they will begin to trust and recommend you to others they meet. It is just a great way to make connections. Word of mouth beats all other advertising ( at least the kind most of us can afford).

When I first started, I thought that if I just bought an expensive ad in the “Yellow Pages” that I would be set. Guess what, that was a lot of money down the drain. Not many of those admins use the yellow pages anymore, so don’t waste your money.

Connecting with those people on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc would be much more effective and productive. You can make it really easy for your readers by simply putting the icons for those social media networks right on your blog.

I would love to hear your thoughts and comments. I also want to invite you to sign up for my email club to get more information on ideas on making money with food, and other things too.

Creative Commons License photo credit: Christine Cowen

Filed Under: Raise Some Dough Tagged With: , , , ,

Does the Thought of Blogging Scare You?

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#9 #99 bus stops of doom at broadway and commercial ! - 20101115_028.jpg

You have to be committed……

That’s right, starting a blog is signing up for a commitment. You have to pay attention to it, add to it frequently, and interact with the people who read it. I know that is enough to scare some people, and I won’t lie to you, taking the time weekly to keep your blog up to date sometimes reminds me of the starter used for “friendship bread”. It does require effort.

So why do people start blogs? Well, there are lots of reasons. Some people start a blog simply to do an online personal journal that they want to share. In that case, adding to it only has to be whenever you feel like it.

When you are using a blog to build your business, frequency is key. You are going to use your business blog to build a reputation. To actually do that, you have to be committed to adding valuable content.

People are interested in what is in it for them, and content that will solve a problem they have or teach them something they want to learn, will keep them coming back for more. Look at it this way, why are you reading my blog.

I hope it is because you find some value here. I have a lot of experience in running my own business, and have more experience baking. In addition to that, I am a stay at home mom of twelve kids and have run a home based business for ten years.

My purpose here is to communicate some of that experience to moms who want to stay at home with their kids, but have a need to generate income too. I know that my fund raising business is a great fit for some moms, and will give them the extra income they are seeking.

For other moms, they love to bake, but want to strictly work online. From my experience, that will take longer to turn a profit, but can certainly be done, is being done every day. There are lots of opportunities out there.

You can choose to do a podcast, and talk about food, recipes, tools, kitchen design, appliances, etc. You can do a video and demonstrate how to do something. I have samples of video on my website. Judy and I have a great time when we make videos.

The cameras are inexpensive and easy to use. I use the Flip. It is super easy to use, you shoot the video, plug the built in plug to a USB port and you are all set. My only criticism with that camera is that for best results, you need an additional lapel mic for better sound quality.

Yes, all the above can be a blog. Really, there is no reason to be scared. Once you get into, it is fun. You can meet new people, and it will help you build your business, have fun doing it.

Creative Commons License photo credit: roland

Filed Under: Raise Some Dough Tagged With: , , , , ,