Web 101

There are so many tools on the Internet that could help you and your business, and most of them you probably have never heard of. I am going to highlight a few of these tools for you, and it is up to you to explore them further on your own! Let me know in the comments section which tool you found the most helpful and/or interesting.

Google Docs
If you have a gmail account, you have started off in the right place. Google offers amazing programs that most have never heard of or had the opportunity to use. If you have your gmail email pulled up, go to the top corner of your screen and click "documents."

From the documents tab, click on "create." From there, you can create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, and the best feature...forms. Google forms is an amazing tool. You can create vendor event applications, surveys about your business, giveaways, and more. Add questions in a variety of formats. Share the forms by adding emails or just copy/paste the link wherever you want people to find your form. This is FREE and fun to do. Google also has a free website host. It is harder to use than most, but offered for anyone interested. Just search Google websites.

Weebly

I recently discovered weebly, a user-friendly website host. It is so easy to create a website now-a-days, and this host is FREE. You have the option of upgrading if you choose. Some elements of the design can not be used unless you have a pro account, but there are so many, you are sure to make a fabulous webpage by just using the free version. Check out the two I have made recently:

http://wakecountybusinessmoms.weebly.com

http://bootsnbucklesphotography.weebly.com

If you find yourself so busy during the day and do not have the time to sit down and make a website, feel free to email me and I will GLADLY make one for you. At $1 a page, this is steal. Most designers charge in the $100-$200 range to create a website, even if the host is free.

Creative Commons Licensed Photos

Have you ever found yourself in a sticky situation and were caught "stealing" someone's licensed photo or copyrighted image. It happens all the time. As a photographer, I get extremely disappointed when someone posts an image on Facebook or online with my watermark no where to be found. This is equivalent to saying, "Look at this photo, I don't know where I found it, who took it, or where it was taken. Feel free to use it too." Even if you do not have the intentions of offering your photos to someone who may steal it, it happens anyways. NEVER EVER put a professional photograph on the Internet UNLESS it has a watermark. Sometimes, it will still be stolen with a watermark, and in that case, severe legal actions can be taken. You do NOT want to be caught doing this. On the flip side, you do not want to be the one doing the stealing and using an image you searched on Google for your website, product image, catelog, facebook page, etc. If you search images on Google, copy and paste, or save to your computer, stop now. There is a better way, a legal way. Some images are licensed for creative common use, which means, the photographer says, "hey, I give you permission to use my photo." You can find these type of images on Flickr, by going to the Creative Commons area. You can also find these images by searching here. If you have any questions about copyrights or licensed images, please do not hesitate to ask!

Poll Everywhere

Have you ever wanted to take a poll or quick survey for your business to determine clients/customers needs and wants? I have a way! Poll Everywhere is a website created solely for people to use to take a poll of a group and get the results on their computer in a very timely manner.  The group taking the poll simply answers using text messaging, going online on a computer and answering, or through the website Twitter.  The answers of the group show up to the person taking the poll as soon as they are sent and received by the site. This website is very user friendly and has a lot of helpful information.  All you need to do is go to the website, sign up for an account, and then you can create a poll.  The website and poll creator is free to use as long as you are using it for a group smaller than 40 people.  If you are going to be polling any groups larger than that it will cost varying rates.  Once you have a poll set up than you just need to provide directions to your group on how they can respond to the poll.

Lastly, a few extra tips to help you on the web...

1. Take a screen shot of your screen if you want to post results of a random.org drawing, or anything you want your customers to see on YOUR screen. Press "print screen" on your keyboard, which basically acts like a "copy screen." Then paste into Paint or a word document and save the image to your computer. Print screen can usually be found near the scroll lock, insert, delete, or home buttons on your keyboard.

2. Design your own business cards at vistaprint or office max online. You can save the design or send directly to the store in your area where they print and have them boxed up when you arrive.

3. Check out these amazing, interesting, and fun sites I have come across lately:

http://www.wordle.net/ (toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text.)

https://bubbl.us/ (brainstorming program)

http://mashable.com/2008/08/19/online-note-taking-applications/ (top ten note taking applications)

http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2010/01/100-incredible-educational-virtual-tours-you-dont-want-to-miss/ (virtual tours such as Disneyland, art museums, famous cities)

Social Buying Circle

Members,

If you haven't heard, we are starting a social buying circle on the Facebook page. Basically, a seller is assigned a month, and everyone in the circle must purchase something from that seller at a minimum of $15. When it is your month as the seller, you will have over $100 in sales and new potential future customers! Please see the group "doc" to sign up. We have a few months left in circle 1, and then we start assigning circle 2.

Thanks!

Friday Freebies 3/23

 Free chips and Queso at Chillis using this coupon: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10150638558968214&id=106027143213

Free Drink at Starbucks http://www.starbucks.com/blog/how-to-enjoy-a-free-drink-this-week/1169

PF Chang's is offering a free lettuce wrap appetizer for joining its "Warrior Rewards" club.  You don't have to buy anything else to take advantage of this offer and you get it just for signing up: http://www.pfchangs.com/warriorcard/

On Wednesday March 28 th, The Disney Store (Disney is the parent company of ABC News) is celebrating its 25 th anniversary.  In honor of this silver anniversary, the first 250 customers at each Disney store that day will receive a free pair of Mickey Mouse ears - silver ones!   For more information, click on the link and go to the calendar page. http://www.disneystore.com/in-store-special-events/mn/1001271/

25 Free Photo Prints at Walmart. You can redeem this offer just by opening a Walmart Photo Center Account. Membership is free. No purchase necessary. When you get to the welcome page, click on "Why join Walmart" and sign up for an account to get the freebie.

Area Park Reviews: Edition 1

Since many of us have kids that are at the age to play at parks, I thought I would do a park review every now and then. You may find out about a new park/area that you haven't visited yet!

This first edition, I am starting with two parks that are almost in my backyard and because I visit them atleast three times a week.

Lake Benson Park Garner, NC
Lake Benson is located off of Aversboro Road (from Timber Drive) in Garner. As soon as you turn into the park, there are numerous open fields as well as a large walking trail (1.8 miles) that connects with White Deer Park across the street. There is a lot of room and space to ride bikes, play football or soccer, and run with strollers. There are two playgrounds, one large one and one smaller one. The large of the two has a covered play area, shelter, picnic tables, and benches. Never worry about parking, as there are two parking lots as well as plenty of room to park off the side of the main dirt road. This park accommodates a variety of activities from family gatherings at the four picnic shelters to Town wide special events. A restroom facility is located adjacent to shelter #1. In warm weather, fishing and boat rentals are also available at the Lake Benson Boat House (975 Buffaloe Road-662-5703), which is open seasonally for boating and fishing from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day Weekend. Hours of operation will be Friday 12:00 PM to 7:00 PM, Saturday 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM and Sunday 12:00. Shelters are rentable for events, contact the Town of Garner for more information.

An all around great place to hang out with your family and enjoy a picnic or bike ride.

White Deer Park
White Deer is located just across the street from Lake Benson. With five shelters, two playgrounds, two miles of paved trails and a 2,500 square foot nature center, it is the largest municipal park in Garner. Open from sunrise to sunset, everyday. The Nature Center is open Tuesday-Saturday from 9am-5pm and Sunday from 12-5pm. The park itself is 96 acres, with an outer paved loop around the park exactly 1 mile. Shelters can also be reserved. The playground features wooden playsets, a sandbox, a large slide, and several picnic areas.

This park is a must-check out. It is a great place for birthday parties or just a Sunday Picnic.

Click here for the Trail and Park Brochure.

Click here for the trail map.

First Edition: Friday Freebies

Welcome to our first edition of FRIDAY FREEBIES for Wake County Business Moms! Tell me what you think about this new weekly blog theme in the comments section...does it stay or go?

Our first freebie is brought to you by IHOP: Join IHOP's Pancake Revolution Email club and receive three free meals-one for joining, one on your birthday, and one on the anniversary of joining. Yummmy.

Next we have a free quart of Paint at Ace Hardware, a $16.50 value. "Like" Ace Hardware on Facebook and receive a coupon for Saturday, March 10th when Ace stores will be giving away free quarts in the color of your chocie. Only on 3/10.

Kia dealers around the country are giving away $25 gift cards. All you have to do is test drive the new 2012 Optima. Spend the Visa gift card however you like. Available until March 31, 2012. http://2012kiaoptimatestdrive.cloudapp.net/

Bath and Body Works is giving away a free signature collection item with a $10 purchase. See coupon to use in stores.

"Like" Old Navy's Facebook page and receive 10% off your purchase through March 15th.

If you have a Kindle, a website called Pixel of Ink will let you know about free and deeply discounted books. You can sign up to get a daily email from them if you like

This freebie depends on NASCAR driver Ryan Newman, who drives the No. 39 Chevrolet. If he places in the top 10 in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race this season, you get a free Bloomin' Onion at Outback Steakhouse with any purchase on the Monday immediately following the race. One offer per table.   

It's a yearly tradition for Rita's Italian Ice, and Rita's is doing it again in 2012. All Rita's locations will give away a free, regular size Italian Ice to every customer on the first day of spring, March 20. Just come in between noon and 9 p.m.

Grab dozens and dozens of free songs from Google Music and Android Market.

Join the Redbox Text Club and you'll get a free one-day DVD rental each month, and other free stuff. To join, text DVD to 727272.

Send a pack of Kleenex tissues to someone for free, and you'll get a pack free. Yours will be a sample of the brand's new Cool Touch tissues.

Walmart is offering free tax preparation and in-store 1040EZ filing at select stores. Look for a Jackson Hewitt or H&R Block kiosk inside the store.

Sign up for Godiva's Rewards Club (it's free) and you'll get a free piece of chocolate every month when you visit a participating Godiva boutique.

Sign up for Dunkin' Donuts' Perks Rewards program, and you'll get a a free medium beverage for signing up and a free medium beverage on your birthday. You'll also earn rewards as you spend on Dunkin' stuff.

Sign up for restaurant and food product discounts at Bob Evans, and you'll get a buy one get one free coupon for the restaurant's side dishes which are sold in grocery stores.

That is it for this week's edition of Friday Freebies. Be sure to tell me if you think this blog topic is a hit or miss! I want to bring you topics that interest you!!

Happy Friday!

Routine

No matter how much you may hate it, routine is a necessary part of life. Routine is not only helpful for us working moms, but also very helpful for our kids.

Let me explain...since my daughter was 3 weeks old, we had a bedtime routine established. We did the same thing every single night. Guess what? She was sleeping through the night around 5 weeks old. It started with a warm bath before bedtime using the Johnson's Bedtime Lavender Bath, a quiet bedtime story, lotion, brush hair, put on pajamas, and nursed/bottle now. It happened the same order every night. Within a week, she knew that bathtime meant almost bedtime. Twelve months later, the routine is still the same. She even heads toward the bathtub at 8:00 on the dot without a fuss. Having a baby that slept through the night at 5 weeks can mostly be contributed to the bedtime routine we started early. She could anticipate bedtime the same time every night. I am a routine fanatic. I have routine in almost every single aspect of my life; without it, I would be lost.

My daughter, Macy, sleeping through the night at 5 weeks.

Where am I going with all of this? Well, I am glad you asked. Being a working mom requires us to have routines in our day to day life. We need to set our business hours around our family and stick to them. This includes making a family calender to post where everyone can see so that all involved know what comes next. The entire family needs to learn when mommy is working and when mommy is not. Not only will this help you stay grounded, focused, inspired, and energized, but it will help the whole family stay on board. They will be able to anticipate when mommy has to work, which in turn, will help fussiness and drama.

Routines also need to be established with your business. Set 1 hour a day which you will respond to all emails. Set another hour when you will network. Set another hour when you will call clients or make follow up calls. You get the picture. Your clients will learn to appreciate a business owner who is set in a routine. Doing the same thing everytime makes happy clients/customers and a happy business owner.

I read a story today about a lady who hired a k9 clean up company to clean up the yard on a weekly basis. The company was owned and operated by an 18 year old boy from her neighborhood. Yes, 18 years old with a LLC company. He was always 5 minutes early and did the job to near perfection. He even left 2 dog treats and a thank you note on the owners front door every single time. This kid knew exactly what he was doing, and we should all appreciate this story. He was consistent and had a routine that made his customers incredibly happy. Happy customers = more business! If you can establish simple routines like this with your business (responding to emails within 24 hours or less everytime, sending thank you notes everytime, etc), you are bound to keep your current customers and gain new ones.

Routine my friends will not only help your family life, but your business will grow as well. As hard as it may be for some of you, trust me on this, and make it your goal this week to establish routines. Start small and work your way up.

~Amber

Finding Business Leads-Guest Post

Okay, so you are probably wondering, just like I did, “Where do I begin? I’ve run out of friends and family, where do I find business?” 

I can’t say I’m a pro at this, but I can say I’m doing much better with finding more business! The biggest word of advice I can give you that I’ve been told several times:

 Don’t be scared to share your business!! 

I’m not really sure why I didn’t do this sooner! I’ve been selling Pampered Chef for almost 2 years! I wear my logo wear EVERYWHERE! I’ve received so many inquiries since I started wearing my Pampered Chef gear! This was generating business and I didn’t even realize what was happening. I THOUGHT… “People aren’t going to pay attention to what I’m wearing!” Boy was I wrong! Just the other day when I was picking my son up from school, a parent of a little boy in his class said she wants to have a show! Now, if you’re a small business owner and not with a direct sales company that has this type of advertising… come up with your own logo wear. Find someone who can take your logo and put it on a shirt. If you don’t have a logo…create one or find someone to help you create a logo. Check out Branding Your Business for more ideas.

Where else should you strum up business??? VENDOR FAIRS my friends! They might cost you some $$$ but it’s worth it, especially if you need new clients. Hunt for FREE vendor fairs! Look for fundraiser fairs (if it costs to get in…that’s a tax write off!) Now you’re wondering, where do I find vendor fairs? To be honest, I’ve found most of mine through Facebook. Raleigh Momprenuers is an EXCELLENT page. If you’re not on it, join it now! Stop what you’re doing and join!

Post everywhere you can think of asking if anyone is in need of whatever your company has to offer. Also, check the small town newspapers and see what’s going on and contact PTA’s of schools. Lastly, check into consignment sales and if they offer vendor booths. The 2nd Look Boutique and Kids Everywhere Consignment sales offer vendor tables. When you’re doing a vendor fair, have door prize slips and have a drawing for something FREE!! Do you want to know a secret? Every one of my door prize slips at vendor fairs/shows are WINNERS! Be sure to use the word FREE when your advertising the door prize. Everyone LOVES the word FREE!
Try these simple things to generate more leads to your business.

Thanks to Maribeth for blogging this topic for us!