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There are lots of articles out there telling you how to save money, and most of them involve giving up things: cancel your cable TV subscriptions, give up your daily latte, stop going out to eat, etc.

Doing those things can definitely save money. If you are willing to do them, you will have more cash in your pocket at the end of the month.

But what if you want to save money without sacrificing the things you want? You may believe that you work hard and you deserve that latte, or going to your favorite restaurant with your friends.

Here are some ways you can reduce your expenses with giving up the things that give you pleasure. [Read more →]

Do you dwell on the bad side of life, believing that you are just being realistic by accepting negative thoughts and feelings? Do you hear yourself saying things such as, “Well, isn’t that just my luck,” or, “I can’t do anything right,” without even thinking about them?

Allowing your mind to dwell on the negative definitely affects how you feel, and may even affect what happens. After all, if you always expect bad things to happen, will you take the actions necessary to make good things happen? Probably not, because you have internalized the idea that good things do not happen to you.

You may believe that how you think can not change, but that is not at all true. You can make a conscious choice to think positive thoughts and change how you feel. [Read more →]

This post at Jezebel.com got me thinking about the attitudes we get from mass media when it comes to successful people. It seems that Cosmo ran one of their (in)famous quizzes, this one titled, Are You Destined For Success? If your answers indicate that you possess any shred of human decency, you are labeled an “Undetermined Dawdler” with no chance of succeeding in business or in life. The “correct” choices in this quiz involve being deceitful, sneaky and manipulative, while not displaying raw ambition because that would apparently be unladylike.

Of course, anyone who actually takes advice from Cosmopolitan magazine has deeper problems than can be addressed here. And if this attitude only existed in a quiz written by a bitter freelance writer making less than $20,000 a year, it could easily be ignored. However, it is reflective of what we are taught about successful people in all kinds of media. The boss is always the person who got ahead by stealing the ideas of underlings, lying, and pretending to be nice to people while actually stabbing them in the back. Sometimes literally. How many times have you watched an episode of Law and Order where the murderer is the successful businessman? [Read more →]

Do you have an audience that would like to receive free magazines, white papers, podcasts, webinars and other information on business and tech topics—content they would pay for, but won’t have to? If so, I have a resource that will make you a hero to them, while also putting money in your pocket.

With RevResponse by NetLine you get paid for each qualified subscription or download request. Just tell your audience about the resources available, and when they request free information, you make money. How much? That depends on the offer, but the minimum is $1.50 per qualified lead and some offers pay much more. [Read more →]

The other day, someone was telling me how busy she has been and all that she has been doing. Her list of activities certainly made it sound as though she is busy, but she doesn’t seem to be productive. There is a big difference. [Read more →]

Great slogans stick in our minds and help us to remember the businesses they represent. You can create a slogan for your business that will capture the attention of customers and help them remember your business when they are ready to buy.

Although clever slogans may be memorable, if they do not make a connection between your business and the customer’s need, they may not be effective. How many commercials have you seen that you thought were great, but later you could not remember what they were advertising? The same can apply to slogans.

A good slogan sticks in your brain with a message that sells your company or your products. The old Timex slogan, “Takes a licking and keeps on ticking,” is not only easy to remember (It rhymes!) but it stresses an important product benefit: Timex watches are made to last.

One of the most memorable slogans of recent years is Nike’s, “Just do it.” Although it does not promise a specific benefit, the idea of “just doing it” resonates with the athletic shoe buyers Nike wants to reach.

Here are more tips on creating a memorable slogan for your business: [Read more →]

Think you can not get anything done in just 15 minutes? In fact, some of my most productive work is done in 15-minute blasts. Although I use 15 minutes as a standard, you may do some of your projects in 10, 20 or 30 minutes, depending on the time you have available or your maximum attention span. The time you spend is not the key, it is how you approach the project. Here are some ways you can power through your to-do list, 15 minutes at a time.

First, get past the idea that you can not accomplish anything in 15 minutes. Many tasks expand to fill the time available, so if you have two hours it will take two hours. When you only have 15 minutes, you will be amazed what you can do in just15 minutes. Don’t believe me? Think about this: How long would you say it takes to clean your house? Now, imagine that your mother-in-law will be at the door in 15 minutes. How long will it take to clean your house? Get my point? [Read more →]

Here is Part Four of my series on how to quickly and easily create an information product.

Part One showed you how to get ready to create your audio product.
Part Two detailed how to produce and package the recording.
Part Three showed you ways to sell your audio product online.
Part Four will give you ideas to market your new product, including pricing.

Let’s start by talking about pricing. The biggest factor in choosing the optimal price is what your customers see as the value of your product. What does your audio program do for them? [Read more →]

Here is Part Three of my series on how to quickly and easily create an information product.

Part One showed you how to get ready to create your audio product.
Part Two detailed how to produce and package the recording.
Part Three will show you ways to sell your audio product online.
Part Four will give you ideas to market your new product, including pricing.

If you have been playing along at home, you have recorded and produced an audio program. In next week’s lesson we will talk about pricing and marketing your audio, but here we are going to talk about how to make your audio available online. [Read more →]

Here is Part Two of my series on how to quickly and easily create an information product.

Part One showed you how to get ready to create your audio product.
Part Two will detail how to produce and package the recording.
Part Three will show you ways to sell your audio product online.
Part Four will give you ideas to market your new product, including pricing.

In Part One you assembled the tools you will need, including:

• A free conference calling account. One I have used is http://www.thebasementventures.com/. They will record the call for you.
• Audio editing software. Whether you use Windows, Mac OS, or Linux, you can use Audacity. It is a free download at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/
• Someone to interview or to interview you. This can be a friend or colleague, or an expert you invite.
• A list of questions. These are the outline for the interview.

The next step is to do the interview and record it. [Read more →]