I guess now is not the time to be shy… Blogs, Facebook, myspace, flickr, twitter, linked in, Youtube, wikispaces …are waiting for you to use them to tell the world how great you are.
As a student, I feel I’m not ready to put myself out there. However Patti Church from whyhire.me disagrees, whyhire.me is helping students use social media to it’s fullest and to brand themselves.
It’s time… don’t be scared.. it will make employeers want to hire you and it could be really fun.
See you online.
Wendi
Most business today want to get their “chirp on” in the world of social media and marketing. Even Denny’s Grand Slam breakfast has something to say: http://twitter.com/DennysGrandSlam
Here’s a few DO’s and DON’Ts to keep in mind when beginning your venture into the world of online marketing…
DON’T- use social media to overtly market or sell. Instead use it to educate, enlighten or entertain your audience.
DON’T- mix personal and business accounts/personas.
DON’T- set it and forget it… you signed up…you have to sustain your participation and interaction.
DO- respond to the negative tweets.
DO-have a plan for getting the most marketing value out of your social media approaches.
DO- use sites such as: Google Alerts, search.twitter.com to listen in on conversations about you, your company, your competitor and your industry.
In the next few years, social media will become a primary vehicle for interacting with customers, partners, suppliers and even employees. The sooner you start, the better off you will be! Hope to see you on my RSS feeds!
Wendi
Owning a website is one of the few businesses where you can invest less than $100 and earn $100,000. Here are some tips on what you can write off at tax time.
In the beginning…you can write off:
ISP- Internet Service Provider
High Speed Internet Connections
Phone line (if you have two)
Fee for Web Hosting
You’re online- now what can you write off:
Software
Online Services
Support Services
Ok, now you’re really moving- what can you write off?
Designer
Templates
Upkeep for your webite- ie writers, website optimizations, professional bloggers
E-mail service costs
Online marketing
Web promotions
Don’t forget about this:
Office Rent or Business use of your home
Business use of your car
Travel to conference related to your online business
Meals and entertainment costs
As you can see it pays to keep track of every penny. For more information visit: www.cra-arc.gc.ca
At work we have a national client- OLGC (Ontario Licensing and Gaming Committee) and they just introduced a new game called Lotto Max. Unfortunately I very carefully read their commercial scheduling instructions wrong for over a month. Although the ads that played on Live 88-5 and Hot 89-9 were not completely wrong, they were not completely right either. This mistake may cost Newcap Radio $12,000 in lost revenue. Crappy x 5!!
Bob LeDrew, Principal Consultant, Translucid Communications, was recently a guest speaker for my Business Management and Advertising Class. It was a great presentation and I learned a lot about Tactics and Strategy, Bob also talked about DAMAGE CONTROL. When my work mistake surfaced, I followed his advice:
1] DON’T HIDE- the minute I figured out that I screwed up I wanted to NOT say anything- maybe no one would notice, But I came clean on the mistake.
2] RESPOND QUICKLY- I knew this mistake would probably cost me my job, so I packed my boxes and took a lot of stuff home with me. If I did get fired in the next few days I could leave as gracefully as possible. Plus I grabbed whatever highlights of my radio career I could find so I could use them to help me find another job. (I hoped other companies would see past my mistake and look at the good work I have done as well)
3] WHAT HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED SO THIS NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN- Days later when I was asked to follow a man in a suit into the General Managers office; I was ready for anything… I even knew where my car keys were so I could leave without too much embarrassment. However much to my surprise they didn’t fire me. They may or may not believe me that the OLGC’s scheduling instructions are very confusing, but it was agreed upon that this would never happen again but implemented some new procedures.
5] I AM VERY SORRY- I AM very sorry! It wasn’t even carelessness, I misunderstood the stupid instructions. I think I’m still employed because I did some damage control for myself. Hopefully I will never, ever have to do damage control for myself again.
I would much rather do it for a client.
To better days!
Wendi
I found a job posting, for an E-Marketing Manager.
That is what I want to do after I’m done my E-Publishing Program!
How exciting!! I just have to learn:
So, hopefully I’ll find all the answers and learning I need throughout the E-Publishing Program! Cheers to my new future job as an E-Marketing Manager!
Word!
Wendi
[This is a picture of me after I finished my business proposal]
As a person, I’ve always wanted to be a “brand that carries itself.”
One really interesting aspects of being an ENTREPRENEUR is Branding your business.
To Brand your business you must first have your mission statement and core values nailed down. Solid!
When you brand your business you are summing up your: • Reputation • Customer Service • Promises • Price • Feeling • Attitude • Logo • Product Line.
So as we move closer to bringing our business idea to the online world, we must remember to BRAND IT like it’s the best E-Publication ever… well, the best E-Publication for our target market-but that’s another blog for a different day! Stay Tuned!
Word!
Wendi
There are 4 types of business:
Each has its own advantages and disadvantages:
I found Wikipedia had the best explanations for each. Especially if just want to know the facts and don’t need the nitty gritty details just yet. (I posted the link for easy access)
I know you are all on the edge of your seat waiting for my brilliant business idea. Me too. Hopefully I’ll get my light bulb moment any second now.
Talk to later!
Wendi
I’ve updated my blog with an Interesting Ideas category. The person who wrote the first (and so far, only) article is shaking every tree in the online forest.
My new assignment for my Advertising and Marketing class is to come up with an E-publication business idea, which is different from coming up with an online business idea. An E-publication business is more dynamic and entertaining than an online business.
So my challenge begins… right now I’m thinking about a business to make it easy for media organizations find and book guests, a book club, something for my husband’s television show-Fish Out of Water on APTN. Of course anything to do with dogs might be a good idea too. Lots of people like war and history too. I also thought of some other stuff, but I can’t it remember now. Another key to being a good ENTRPRENEUR is to write down your ideas before you forget.
So if you have any interesting ideas yourself, please let me know. Maybe I can create a business plan for you.
Wendi
OK, the great thing about blogging is that when you’re supposed to be actually working at work, you can distract yourself with your blog. How else are you going to document the events that get you fired?
(Good thing we’re going to be ENTREPRENEURS -WHEW!)
Today is Friday- Sept 18th. If you are planning on taking the E-publishing program please note there is a FRIDAY NIGHT class. YAY!!! But hopefully you’ll like the program as much as I do and you won’t mind sitting in a icy classroom on a Friday night instead of drinking icy martinis.
This week the E-publishing program has caused me much hyperventilation and stress about my lack of time management/organizational skills… But I’m pretty sure any ENTREPRENEUR worth his/her meal receipts eventually gets it together.
So remember my brave blog readers, next week is another school/work week and hopefully we won’t get fired until after Christmas!
Wendi
Holy Moly.. 8 am starts very early on Saturday Morning.. but I made it. I’m a little behind in my homework already.. ok I’m alot behind but hopefully nobody will notice. I guess that is one of the secrets of being an ENTREPRENEUR always appear to have everything under control until you have everything under control.
If you are thinking about taking the E-Publishing course but are not sure what it is, well today I learned that E-Publishing is taking anything and putting it online. Of course, if you could make that “anything” worth somebody’s time and money, the better.
So if you want to learn how to go from being a consumer to being an entrepreneur, keep visiting my blog and we’ll figure it out one E-Publishing class at a time.
Sincerely,
Wendi Reed
