Are you New Year Ready?

Every December I get excited when I realize that my favorite goal setting time of the year is coming closer. I love making New Year's resolutions, even though it seems pointless sometimes. Goal setting is important for me personally and professionally. That is how I get myself focused and hold myself accountable.

We have three more days to evaluate our 2013 goals and to create our goals for the upcoming year. I found a great article published by Huffington Post with five suggested New Year's resolutions. Read the original article here.

1. File all of that legal paperwork. Take advantage of the fresh start that comes with the New Year to make your way through that stack of paperwork and finish what you've started.
2. Re-Analyze your ROI. Every year or so, it is important to go over the major operations of your business and figure out what can be updated to provide the best possible return on investment for your business.
3. Get your estimated tax payment in. Anyone that runs a small business is likely to pay a quarterly estimated tax since waiting until April to pay your taxes is a quick way to find yourself in serious debt to the IRS.
4. Explore social media. And I don't just mean just by creating a Facebook account. Remember that it takes time to build a social following, so don't give up if you aren't overnight Tumblr famous!
5. Update your site. In a consumer survey sponsored by GE Capital Retail Bank, 81 percent of respondents said that they researched companies online before making any major purchase. That means that a majority of your potential customers have looked your business up online before buying anything. Take a look at your website -- does it present an image of your business that you want 81 percent of your potential market to see?

Social Media for Small Businesses (There are so many, which ones should my company be using?!)

An online marketing company, Local SEO Sites, offers this cheat sheet for social media options for small businesses:

Merry Christmas 
Eve!

Facebook Likes

PLEASE "LIKE" MY BUSINESS FACEBOOK PAGE! (I am trying to hit 100 likes by the New Year!) 


As the months and years go by, a social media presence only becomes more and more vital for any company. It is a convenient way to get the word out about a business. Facebook obviously plays a big role in this social media. Quite often, we are told that as professionals we need LinkedIn. BUT, we cannot forget that Facebook gives us the option to create a business page. We can even pay them to help us advertise it. I prefer the more organic way of growing my Facebook presence however - with consistent posts and links.

I am experimenting the best way to get Facebook viewers to get to my business page and to get them to actually "Like" my page. Be part of the experiment by liking my business page. Here is the link:

PLEASE "LIKE" MY BUSINESS FACEBOOK PAGE!

Rundown of 12 Days of Christmas Deals

This time of year can be a special one, it can also be a profitable one for companies and even for consumers. I decided to post a list of some websites and businesses offering "12 Days of Christmas Deals." If you know of more, just add them below in the Comments section.

• Lawmarketing.com - Each day, from Friday, December 13th to Tuesday, December 24th, LawMarketing.com will feature a deal of the day which may include a free gift or a popular item at a 25% savings.
• Microsoft - Microsoft offers daily deals from December 9 to December 20th on the latest tech gear.
• Apple - Apple’s opting to celebrate the 12 days after Christmas by rewarding some of its customers with free tokens of its appreciation. From December 26 to January 6, you can download a gift each day—songs, apps, books, movies, and more—with the 12 Days of Gifts app. Each day's gift will only be available for 24 hours, so download the free app to make sure you don’t miss out.
• DPS (Digital Photography School) - Digital Photography School is giving you an amazing deal every day until Christmas! For 12 days, you get the chance to grab a bargain or two (or twelve!) on a fantastic range of products.
• Costco - We missed the boat on these deals, but you can see on what this wholesale company had deals on its website.
• Petsmart - If you have a pet, check our these daily deals.
• Canon - Each day a brand new deal will be delivered to the site for you to shop, but act fast because these deals won't last! 

Are you Allergic to Mondays like Ziggy?

I sure hope your answer to that is an emphatic, "No!" I love Mondays. they are my favorite day of the week because they represent a fresh start. No matter how bad the week before is, Monday starts the next week fresh. My favorite day is when the first day of the month is on a Monday. I think I would be in euphoria when January 1st is on a Monday.

I am a goal-oriented person, so I like to make daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals. I don't always succeed, but I put in the effort. I also like knowing that if I failed one week, nothing is stopping me from succeeding the next week.

If you feel allergic to Mondays, read this UK-based article about how to love that blessed day.

Get OUTSIDE Yourself

This morning was an emotional roller coaster for me. Nothing tragic happened. I was just getting children ready for school and a Nutcracker Ballet performance and running late. Rushing at home and rushing in the car. A lady in front of me almost caused a car accident. Then the feeling of hurry, hurry we are LATE!! running through my head until I was able to get these lovely children to their destinations. Once I dropped them off my mental tank plummeted and I felt so tired. Like I wanted to go home and do nothing but lay in bed and watch a Christmas movie. Really negative thoughts were coming into my head. Boy were they distracting, but I resisted the temptation of my child-free bed and went on to Sam's Club.

I am a pretty stable person who doesn't usually get down, but this morning I just felt that way. I noticed the backstage mom at the Nutcracker looked at me rather oddly because I looked how I felt. As I encouraged myself to go into the store, I decided to talk to people and interact in the friendly way I usually do - not with the stressed look on my face that had been there.

It was amazing how different I felt by the time I left Sam's Club and then a local grocery store. I had consciously talked with people and tried to be helpful. I was able to push away the awful mood I was in and smile for real, not just pretend. I even started to think about ways I could serve other people and thinking about that made me happy. As oft quoted, "service is the best medicine."

My experience this morning can be so useful in any aspect of life - home, work, church, recreational. Many times our mood and thought patterns direct how our entire day will go. Even if we usually have a sunny disposition, there will eventually be a day where we wake up on the wrong side of the bed. Today was my day. It was amazing to feel the transformation from anxious and annoyed to calm and content.

Even though I didn't have access to this list this morning, I like the 10 ways Lori Deschene suggests to let go of a bad mood. (Although, I would add prayer in there) Here are the first three and feel free to read the rest on her website.

1. Get to the root. If you’ve ever snapped at someone who didn’t say or do anything to offend you, you’re familiar with this common dilemma: you feel something but you’re not entirely sure why. So you start looking for explanations. The kids are too loud. Or the TV’s too small. Or the car’s too dirty. Lashing out won’t address the problems that are creating your feelings.

2. Be real. There’s no point in pretending you’re full of sunshine when internally you feel like crying or screaming. You’re entitled to feel the full range of emotions and express what’s on your mind when you need to. If someone asks what’s wrong, be honest: “I’ve had a rough day, I don’t feel so great, but I’m sure I’ll feel better when I…”

3. Complete the “I’ll feel better when I …” sentence. Everyone has something that’s guaranteed to put a smile on their face. Playing with your dog. Watching re-runs of Friends. Jump roping to bad 80s music.

FREE Small Business Counseling in West Central Florida

A few months ago, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the county I live in has many resources for the small business owner. I have been toying with the idea of opening another totally unrelated business over the past few months.

I started my first business six years ago, but it was in a fumbled way. I didn't really know what I was doing. I just knew that I was desperate for a job I could do at home so I could be home with my babies.

Through the years, I have had varying levels of success, but the fact that Polaris is still up and running six years later, is a major success of its own. Nevertheless, when I start a second business, I want to follow the book and have a business plan and vision in motion.

One way to prepare for this is to attend courses that teach members of the community how to become an entrepreneur. That is how I came to know of the Small Business Development Center at Pinellas County. As you look there you will notice that there are Centers located throughout West Central Florida.

When you click on that link it will take you the the Center's homepage. From there you can peruse the website and its resources at your leisure. The page I recommend you pay most attention to is the Training page. It is found by clicking a link toward the top of the page.

On the Training page, you can select what county you want to locate courses in. Below I have sircled Pinellas County, as I live in this county. Below that I have circled an example class that happens to be taking place at noon today. I took this course back in October. it was very informative, even though I already own and operate a small business. As you can see, the cost is very minimal - just $10 for a 2 hour class. There were nine of us in the class I took and I liked it so much that I came back two days later for another course about marketing, Growing a Business - Secrets of Success for Start-ups and Existing Business Owners.

One of the great aspects of this Center is that they offer FREE one-on-one business tutoring. I have yet to do this, but will be contacting one of the counselors soon.

If you are thinking about starting a business or already own one, I definitely recommend you look into the Small Business Development Center at Pinellas County. If you live out of this area, take some time to research the opportunities in your area.