December 2008 WBO Magazine Issue

To Open Magazine - press on magazine cover image, or “Grab Your Copy Today!

Hot Topics:
- Work Life Balance: The New Holy Grail
- WBO Member of the Month
- Holiday Eating - How to Guide
- How to take Hectic out of the Holidays
- WBO Jr Apprentice US Program Announced
- Early Bird WBO Convention Rate Ends April 9, 2009
- Kim Kiyosaki with Rich Woman and Rich Dad - Upcoming WBO Radio Show Guest
- Office Max, Inc. Title Sponsor for WBO National Convention
- WBO Red Carpet Strut - Expectations exceeded!
- Online WBO March Expo - Virtual Business Convention 3/19-21/09
- WBO Gift Shop - Donating 30% to WBO Grant Fund
- WBO National Business Convention - October 22-24, 2009 in Houston, TX

Read our Magazine Today!

Be the first to find the hidden words on different pages throughout our magazine and win a FREE business size card ad in our next WBO Magazine issue! Email us with all hidden words and page numbers to: info@womenbizowners.org. Good Luck!

Kim Kiyosaki of www.richwoman.com will appear as a radio guest on Women Business Owners “live” online talk radio show on Wednesday, December 17th, 2008 at 11 a.m. (EST) on www.blogtalkradio.com/wbo-radio.  The public is welcome to join us in the chatroom on the host page and/or by “dialing in”, (347) 205-9229.

“Even though we are facing tough economic times today”, say Kim Kiyosaki, self-made millionaire and owner of RichWoman.Com.  “There are still many unique opportunities that exist out there.  It is a time where saavy businesses and/or individuals can seize the opportunity to break into new areas and snatch away market share from less competent competitors.  There is no time like the present to focus on building your financial intelligence so you can see and take advantage of the opportunities these times provide”, continued Ms Kiyosaki.

About the Speaker

Kim Kiyosaki is a sought-after speaker, television and radio talk show guest, the host of a PBS ‘Rich Woman’ show as well as a columnist for WomenEntrepreneur.com.  She is a self-made millionaire and a happily married (but fiercely independent) woman.  Her first book, Rich Woman - A Book on Investing for Women hit the Business Week bestseller list the month it was released.  Rich Woman is a bestseller in Mexico, South Africa, India, Australia and across Europe.

Kim has used the international forum of the Rich Dad brand to showcase the startling statistics related to women and money, and through Rich Woman and www.richwoman.com, has created a community where women can learn and grow.

Kim Kiyosaki entered the business world in a position with a top Honolulu advertising agency and by age 25 she was operating a Honolulu magazine that served the city’s business community.  It didn’t take long for Kim’s entrepreneurial spirit to surface and two years later she ventured into her first business:  a clothing company with national distribution.

In 1989, Kim began her real estate investing career with the purchase of a small 2-bedroom/1 bath rental property in Portland, Oregon.  Today, Kim’s real estate investment company buys, sells and manages millions of dollars in property.

For more information, please visit www.wbotalkradioshow.blogetery.com or www.womenbizowners.org.  Questions about this upcoming online talk radio show can be directed to (713) 516-1524 or email:  anna@womenbizowners.org or altha@womenbizowners.org.

Powerful You! Women’s Network Co-Founder to Appear on BlogTalkRadio.com

Houston, TX – November 24, 2008 –  Sue Urda, is known as the  “Connections Expert”.  She is the co-founder of Powerful You! Women’s Network and will be appearing  as a radio guest for a “live 15-20 minute” interview on www.blogtalkradio.com/wbo-radio.     Her topic will be ” Grow Your Business with Conscious Networking”.  WBO Talk Radio will broadcast on Wednesday, December 3, 2008 at 11 a.m. (EST).  The public is invited to “tune in” by dialing (347) 205-9229 or join us in the chatroom on the host page mentioned in this paragraph.

“There is an art to effective networking and it has nothing to do with selling”, says Sue Urda.  “When the networking process is approached consciously, the results can bring new clients, new alliances and a joy-filled experience.”  Ms. Urda added.

Here is what you will learn:
What is Conscious Networking and how it can work for you
The benefits of formal network groups & how to use them wisely
How to create a powerful 30-second commercial that draws people to you
One amazing word that automatically gives people a reason to trust you
How to enjoy the process of networking
and much more!

About our radio guest

Sue has been an entrepreneur since 1989 and knows the challenges  that young businesses face.  Through her desire to support women, she and her co-partner, Kathy Fyler, created Powerful You! Inc., (www.powerfulyou.com)   It is a company designed to assist women to live abundant, authentic and powerful lives.  Sue’s personal mission is to assist individuals to follow their inner voice, find the simplicity in each day and live their lives in joy.

Ms Urda is also the author of the ebook, Netwoking and You…Perfect Together and the co-creator of the inspirational movie, Stepping Stones.  Her first book, Powerful Intentions, Everyday Gratitude:  100 Transformational Days to Create a Life of Joy, Grace and Ease to be released on November 26th.

For additional information about the WBO Talk Radio Show, go to Women Business Owners (www.womenbizowners.org).  Questions can be directed to altha AT womenbizowners DOT org or anna AT womenbizowners DOT org.

Real Women - Real Fashion - Real Difference

The “WBO Red Carpet Strut” fashion show and charity event is bringing together area business owners, national corporations, area charities, and the community. The Event will raise funds for Cypress Assistance Ministries and the WBO Grant Program on Sunday, December 7, 2008 from 2pm-4pm in Houston, Texas.

Fashion Show Tickets are $15 each at the door with all proceeds being donated to Cypress Assistance Ministries and the WBO Grant Program.
Attendees will enjoy complimentary Wine (photo id required), holiday treats include dueling Chocolate Fountains, unique Gift Items from a selective group of exhibitors and the opporunity to place bids on valued items in the Silent Auction.
WBO will also be selling Raffle Tickets - 1 for $1 or 6 for $5 for a wide variety of products and services featured throughout the fashion show venue. Mark your calendar to participate in this annual social and charity event.

This event is being provided by Women Business Owners, Northside Lexus, Cyber Smoothies, Mary Kay, Ink Spots Museum, Silpada, Unique Family Gift Shop, and Design2Train.

Contact us for your tickets and sponsorship information at 713-516-1524 or http://www.womenbizowners.org.

LINDA P MORTON TO APPEAR AS AN ONLINE WBO RADIO GUEST

 SPEAKING ABOUT MARKETING FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

Houston, Texas – October 18, 2008 – Linda P . Morton will appear as a guest on an online weekly radio talk show sharing her expertise and answering questions about strategic marketing segmentation for small business owners on www.blogtalkradio.com/wbo-radio on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 at 11 a.m. (EST). The dial in phone number (347) 205-9229.

“I am extremely excited about this opportunity to share my expertise with members of Women Business Owners on their “live” online weekly talk radio show,” said Ms. Morton. “It is quite an expense to hire a marketing agency to do this research for you. I plan to offer suggestions/tips for small business owners to have a better understanding of marketing segmentation in order that they might be able to complete these tasks themselves.”

Among the topics of marketing research and development that will be discussed are as follows —

*Analyzing the market

*Determining the target market *Developing a profitable and marketable product

*Marketing the product

*and, much more!

About the speaker

Linda P Morton, Ed.D., APR, is a professor emeritus, the University of Oklahoma and has studied and written about segmenting by demographic characteristics national column in “Public Relations Quarterly” for 9 years. And, Ms. Morton is listed in many Who’s Who. She has also written an e-book entitled “Know’em Sell’em: How to Discover the Best Appeals for Your Target Market which is available for purchase by visiting, http://strategicsegmentation.com/ebook-sales.php.

For more information regarding the WBO Talk Radio Show, please visit our blog, www.wbotalkradioshow.blogetery.com. Questions about Women Business Owners, www.womenbizowners.org, you may call (713) 516-1524 or email altha@womenbizowners.org.

Cypress Cares will be at the Fall Market this week with Christmas cards for our troops. Everyone is welcome to come by and sign some cards, which will be mailed off the day after Thanksgiving.

Like I said, please consider donating to Cypress Cares. No matter how you feel about our politicians or the war effort, the troops still need and deserve the support of all of us. All in-kind donations will be given a receipt for tax purposes, so gather up your friends, family and co-workers, head to the store and buy some of those items you would miss dearly if you were spending a year in the desert…our service members will truly appreciate it!

Raquel Cunningham
Founder, Cypress Cares
http://www.cypress-cares.org 

Here’s a question I get asked all the time:

“I don’t know you how do it, Alicia…with two little ones to care for and so few hours in the day to actually focus on your work. Somehow you manage to write your weekly ezine, hold a bunch of teleseminars each month, run your 10-week group coaching program, AND be creating and promoting new offers and new products all the time. I’m so impressed and inspired by you, but more than that, I want to know how you do it all!?”

To be honest, sometimes I wonder myself! Something I often say to other, especially new, mothers is, “despite what everyone tells you to do, do whatever works for YOU.” In a way, that’s how I started running my business after I had my daughter. I just did whatever worked. I still do.

When she got a bit older, it was easier to manage both being a fulltime mother along with running a successful business. Then enter baby #2 and it was back to square one. It’s not easy but it is possible. And here’s what’s really interesting (mompreneurs, take note): I’m making about $3k more each month since having my son - and I’m working LESS.

A client recently pointed out to me that it seems the biggest growths in my business have been when I’ve been having babies - and she’s right!

Over time, I’ve figured out how to get the most important things done while still being able to focus the majority of my time on my family (after all, that’s one of the reasons why I went into business for myself in the first place).

Here are the top three things that are working for me right now:

1. Setting my work hours

My typical work day looks like this: I get organized the night before for the next day. This jump-starts my day and makes sure that when I do get those tiny pockets of time to get something done, I know exactly what to do. This makes me feel like I’m accomplishing stuff in-between having tea parties, blowing bubbles, crawling around on the floor, exploring the neighborhood or running errands.

But I don’t get any real work done until naptime. I work for about a total of an hour or so while the kids nap, five days a week. Then I put in some more time after they go to bed at night, whether I’m leading a teleseminar or catching up on emails. My biggest block of focused time, usually reserved for writing and product creation, is on Saturdays, when I work approximately 4 hours.

During a perfect week, that would give me about 12 hours of time dedicated to business. However, there’s never a perfect week (one or the other doesn’t nap, I have some pressing non-business-related task that I can only take care of when they’re sleeping, one of them is sick, etc.), so my best guess is that this gives me about 8-10 productive hours to work on my business each week.

2. Ignoring the phone

I’m serious when I say that I ignore the phone. Some of my clients get heart palpitations when I tell them that I NEVER jump when the phone rings and suggest they do the same. I don’t even have the ringer turned on on the business line. Does this mean I miss some important calls? Probably. But my virtual assistant checks my messages in a timely manner, takes care of what she can, and forwards the rest to me. I then call people back at a more convenient time for me.

3. Quick consults

When a prospective client wanted to speak with me about ‘just a few questions’, I used to gladly schedule a time to talk. But instead of a few questions, I’d be on the phone for at least a half hour, basically giving a free coaching/consulting session, and being frustrated with myself for not valuing my time more.

And until recently, when a potential client or customer requested to talk with me further about working with me or about one of my products, they could schedule a time to talk for a much smaller fee than my usual hourly rate, and if they decide to go forward with working with me, they could apply the fee they paid towards the program or product they were interested in. It’s fair and values both our time and investment in the process.

Now, however, prospects can talk with my virtual assistant should they need more information about any of my programs or products. If someone is interested in working with me one-on-one, they need to apply for a private coaching spot and if I feel it’s a good fit, we set up an interview to discuss moving forward.

BONUS: Make and use lists

I’d be lost without my lists! I’d never remember to do anything if I didn’t write it down. I keep a bunch of reporter’s notebooks around the house and anytime I think of something I need to do, I write it down in whatever room I’m in - whether it’s business or personal. Then I periodically gather the lists and separate them into three main lists; personal, business, and other (which includes the “someday I’d like to…” stuff; things that aren’t a priority but that I want to remember to do at some point), and check things off in priority order from there.

If you start applying some of these steps now, I guarantee the number of productive hours you spend on your business will increase. And you’ll also feel less overwhelmed and lessed stressed about trying to get it all done!

Alicia M Forest, MBA, Multiple Streams Queen & CoachT, founder of ClientAbundance.com and creator of 21 Easy & Essential Steps to Online Success SystemT, teaches professionals how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on how to create abundance in your business, visit http://www.ClientAbundance.com.

How to Use Contests to Boost Your Business during summer

By Beverly Mahone

Is your business suffering because it’s summer?  The months between June and August are generally a slow time for online businesses.  People would much rather be outside enjoying the sunshine while shopping than be inside glued to a computer.     

If you’re an entrepreneur trying to get keep your business in the forefront of your customer’s mind, why not try running a contest? A contest is a great way to promote you and your business.  You can also capture names and email addresses to build your list for potential sales.  As you promote your contest, you are also promoting your website and what you offer.  Why do you think some companies advertise “free offers?” Once they get your email address they can also send you information on all of their products and/or services.  They’re counting on the fact that you will eventually see something worth purchasing. 

I have always been a fan of contests—especially trivia contests.  So when I created my website and started networking online in 2005, I immediately put some “just for fun” contests on my website and targeted my niche market—baby boomers.  Within a few months, Name that Baby Boomer Tune and Who’s that Boomer became popular with dozens of people coming to the site daily just to play. 

During the summer I decided to up the ante and started offering little token prizes ($10 gift cards), I saw those numbers double and even triple.   I started to achieve the desired result:  SALES of my book Whatever! A Baby Boomer’s Journey Into Middle Age.  At one point, I sold at least one book per day for 23 days straight.  Those same people who were entering my trivia contests were also checking out the rest of my website and making a purchase.   

If you’re a small business owner looking to increase your online visibility during the summer, contests are definitely a good way to go.  Here are some tips to help you get started:

1)  Research the Legal Issues:  It is important to know what the laws in your state say about running contests.  It is especially important if you allow entries from people outside of the U.S.  Your state may have some restrictions when it comes to dealing with certain states or countries. 

Another thing to check into is whether or not your prizes will require a 1099 claim form be sent to the winner(s) at the end of the year.  The 1099 form is normally generated if a contest winner’s prize is valued at $500 or more.  A good online resource is www.sweepstakeslaw.com;

2) Create a Contest to fit your Target Market:  Before you decide to run a contest you must ask yourself this question  “Do I really know who my target market is?”  If you sell herbal products on your website, to whom are you selling them?  Are you actively soliciting a particular group to purchase your products or does it matter?  Do the products or services you sell have the same appeal to a 25-year-old male as they would for a 45-year-old woman?

3)  Determine the type of contest:  Your contest should fit the image of your business.  If you’re selling weight loss products or a weight loss program, it might be insensitive to sponsor a Best Looking Babe in a Bikini photo contest.  On the other hand, you could be a little creative and hold a humorous writing contest that addresses the statement:  Why I’m glad I’m not skinny like Paris Hilton.  By all means, try to make the contest fit some type of summer theme. 

When I was thinking about holding my first big contest, I was advised not to ask people to write essays because many people generally don’t like to write.  I went against the grain and decided to do an essay-writing contest.  I had nearly 400 entries.  I’ll tell you why later.

Other types of contests are:

·       Trivia

·       Video

·       Multiple Choice

·       Find the Clues

Consider whether you want to hold a daily, weekly, or monthly contest.  You can tailor the contest any way you like.   It can be just for fun and bragging rights or you can offer a small token.  Giving away a “free item” or a coupon good towards the purchase of something from your business has a good chance of creating a new client. 

4)  Be Clear on the Rules:  Whatever type of contest you decide on, make sure the rules are clear and easy to understand.  There should be no loopholes that can be challenged. If it’s a daily, weekly or monthly contest, it’s important those entering know how the winner is determined. 

Will it be the first correct answer or the first five correct answers? 

How many times can a person enter?

How often can someone enter?

How will you handle duplicate entries from one person?

Is the contest international or just for U.S. citizens? 

If cash is involved, what form will the prize be in—cash, check, money order? 

Who will be responsible for shipping and handling charges of the prizes? 

How many prizes will be given away? 

Will you base the prize giveaway on the number of entries? 

Are there any age restrictions? 

When is the entry deadline

If it’s an essay writing contest, what is the word limit?

Is it supposed to be humorous or serious or in poetry form? 

What will be the entrants be judged on?  Is it on creativity or spelling and grammar? 

Who will judge the entries?  

5)    Form Venture Partnerships (Sponsors):   One of the benefits of online networking, is connecting with fellow entrepreneurs.  You can form relationships that develop beyond the “social.”  When preparing to do a contest put the word out to your networking groups. Show them the benefits and ask them to team up with you. You may offer free promotion for their business in your press releases or on your website for a specific period of time.  In exchange, they may offer the grand prize or make a cash contribution to help offset any costs (like shipping and handling prizes to the winner).  This is a great way to increase your visibility and further build on those business relationships. Present your potential partner with the idea that teaming up will be a win-win situation for everyone!    

Using Contests to market your online business is an effective way to drive more traffic to your website and ultimately increase sales. 

In addition to being the author of the best selling book, Whatever! A Baby Boomer’s Journey Into Middle Age, Beverly Mahone has also earned the nickname “Contest Queen” for the number of successful contests she has run on her websites.  She is also a member of Women Business Owners and creator and founder of Boomer Diva Nation—an online community for women 40 and beyond.  To contact Beverly, send an email to:  Beverly@talk2bev.com or visit her website:  www.boomerdivanation.org

Spending more time with your family is important!

The majority of the time the reason moms become work at home moms is because they want freedom. That freedom may include time to be home with the kids, the ability to work when they want, and more.

Most, if not all moms, want to be there for there children. If their child wakes up in the morning and doesn’t feel good, a work at home mom can adjust her schedule and be there for their child.

One problem that work at home moms run into is they get too big and they end up spending less time with their family. That was not supposed to happen to a work at home mom. This article will show you how to efficiently and effectively delegate to others and still make money while spending more time with your family and friends.

We know you work your business so you can help support your family. We also know that you don’t have a lot of money to spend. This article will show you what to delegate so you can work your business in a way that will bring in even more money.

1. Virtual Assistant

Hire a Virtual Assistant to take care of your article submissions, blog posts and submissions, newsletter creations, and advertising. These are things that will lead to more traffic, sales, and confidence.

2. Ghostwriter

Articles are important for any business. Not only do they give you exposure, but they also show your readers that you are an expert. When you need to focus your time, you can have a ghostwriter prepare articles for you. This is a great way to have articles without doing anything.

Now you can see that there are two ways that you can efficiently and effectively spend more time with your family and friends. So why not give it a try this summer and see how it works.

Corrie Petersen runs a successful Virtual Assistant and Ghostwriting business. If you are ready to spend more time with your family, check out what she has to offer. Check out her website at http://www.virtualfreedom4you.com.