Posts by tea_carney
Business School of Hard Knocks: Real-life Cautionary Tales
Here’s a question for you: Ever have anything go sideways on you in your business? Ever wonder what the heck it was all about? Why you? And, why now? You’re not alone. We’ve all had weird stuff happen — and labeled it “bad” or “traumatic” or even “a holy mess.” And if you haven’t experienced the roller coaster of small business ownership, then you’ve either got some awesome karma, or you haven’t been in business long enough. This month, the carnies chose the topic of “School of Hard Knocks.” Kind of the small biz version of “When Bad Things Happen to Good People.” The best part? We all actually learned some good stuff. And now we’d like to pass those lessons on to you: Sharon Hurley Hall of Get Paid to Write Online: Down but Not Out: Surviving The Hard Knocks of the Writing Biz @SHurleyHall https://www.facebook.com/SharonHurleyHall Annie Sisk of Stage Presence Marketing: Make Different Mistakes: A Cautionary Tale From the School of Hard Knocks @AnnieSisk https://www.facebook.com/StagePresenceMarketing Nicole Fende, A.S.A. of Small Business Finance Forum: Scooby Doo to the (Mentor) Rescue @NicoleAFende https://www.facebook.com/SmallBizFinance Katrina Pfannkuch of Buzzwords Communications: Learning the Tricky Balance of “Doing” and “Being” in Your Business @creativekatrina http://www.facebook.com/pages/Buzzword-Communications-LLC/121760949393 Carol Lynn Rivera of Web Search Social Small Business, Big Lessons: How To Learn The Hard Way And Live To Earn Another Day @CarolLynnRivera https://www.facebook.com/WebSearchSocial Nick Armstrong, The Business Storyteller:And the Horse You Rode in On @WTFMarketing https://plus.google.com/+NickArmstrongWTF/ Clare Price of 5 Easy Pages When Opportunity Doesn’t Knock — Reinvent! @ClaresTweets https://www.facebook.com/5EasyPages Tea Silvestre, aka the Word Chef: Small Business Pickles: a True Tale of Trust and Betrayal @teasilvestre http://facebook.com/mywordchef And this month we have a special treat…honorary carnies! Ellie Di, the Headologist SOS — Save Our Self: How Cutting My Own Hair Brought Me Back to Life @Ellie_Di Miss Donna, the Unemployed Entrepreneur The Dark Side of Online Friendships @iHiredMe Michele Pariza Waceck of Get Results Blog When Bad Things Happen to Good Business Owners and Entrepreneurs @MichelePW If you’ve found a fabulous blog post that you think fits this month’s theme, please share a link in the comments below! Photo Credit: Stephen Brace *Honorary carnies have written a great post that fits our theme. All honorary carnies are invited to join us on a regular basis. As a reader, please use your peer-pressure-powers-of-persuasion to convince them they’re needed...
Read MoreThe Care and Feeding of Your Email List
Just as we were finishing up last month’s carnival, one of the carnies mentioned some anxiety around the fact that email unsubscribes seemed to be an uphill battle. It sparked a lively discussion, and before we knew it, the topic for this month’s carnival was born. If you’ve ever wondered what to do about unsubscribes, or how to get a list started in the first place, you’re in the right place! Ready? Let’s dive in: Sandy McDonald of Why You Must Blog: Conversations with My List? A Piece of Cake! @whyyoumustblog https://www.facebook.com/whyyoumustblog Sharon Hurley Hall of Get Paid to Write Online: Why My Email List is Like a Cactus @SHurleyHall https://www.facebook.com/SharonHurleyHall Annie Sisk of Stage Presence Marketing: Getting Your Email Marketing Done In Your Pajamas @AnnieSisk https://www.facebook.com/StagePresenceMarketing Nicole Fende, A.S.A. of Small Business Finance Forum: Email Lists – Profit is NOT by the Numbers @NicoleAFende https://www.facebook.com/SmallBizFinance Nick Armstrong, The Business Storyteller:#$%!: a Guide to Profanity in Your Messaging @WTFMarketing https://plus.google.com/+NickArmstrongWTF/ Carol Lynn Rivera of Web Search Social Email Marketing In The Dead Zone: Are You Training Your List To Ignore You? @CarolLynnRivera https://www.facebook.com/WebSearchSocial Michelle Nickolaisen of Let’s Radiate Three Ways to Make Writing Your Next Newsletter Easier + Faster @_ChelleShock https://www.facebook.com/letsradiate Clare Price of 5 Easy Pages So I’ve Got a Great List, Now What? @ClaresTweets https://www.facebook.com/5EasyPages Jenny Bones of Up Your Impact Factor How to Say Hello (and Goodbye) to Your List @JennyBBones https://www.facebook.com/upyourimpactfactor Michelle Church of Virtually Distinguished: How Can Email Marketing Help You and Your Business? @virtuallyassist http://facebook.com/virtuallydistinguished evan austin of Graphics (and more!) by evan austin: When to Send: Feeding Your Email List @graphicsbyevan https://www.facebook.com/eadesign.me And of course, Tea Silvestre, aka the Word Chef: The Great Email Experiment (or, Why Your Inbox is the Best Social Media Channel to Grow Your Biz) @teasilvestre http://facebook.com/mywordchef And if you’ve found a fabulous blog post that you think fits this month’s theme, please share a link in the comments...
Read MoreQuirkology: How to Be Brandtastic by Embracing Your Weirder Bits
Quirkology isn’t a new word. There are more than a few folks out there using it. But this month we’ve co-opted it as a way to introduce you to the kinds of freakiness that you’ll find here among the carnies…and why it’s important to own yours if you want to build a successful business. Ready? Let’s dive in! Sandy McDonald of Why You Must Blog: Quirkology. Separating the cream from the wishy-washy-whey. @whyyoumustblog https://www.facebook.com/whyyoumustblog Sharon Hurley Hall of Get Paid to Write Online: The Quirky Bits of My Writing Brand @SHurleyHall https://www.facebook.com/SharonHurleyHall Nick Armstrong, The Business Storyteller: Art, Craft, and Commodity – Quirks Create the Business @WTFMarketing https://plus.google.com/+NickArmstrongWTF/ Annie Sisk of Stage Presence Marketing: It’s the Quirks That Make You Irresistible: Three Case Studies in Quirkology @AnnieSisk http://facebook.com/pajamaproductivity Katrina Pfannkuch of Buzzwords Communications: Authentic Connect: The Real You is Your Best and Only Currency @creativekatrina http://www.facebook.com/pages/Buzzword-Communications-LLC/121760949393 Nicole Fende, A.S.A. of Small Business Finance Forum: For More Profit, Just Add Quirks @NicoleAFende https://www.facebook.com/SmallBizFinance Carol Lynn Rivera of Web Search Social Hack Your Marketing: Turn Tiny Details Into Big Results By Tapping Into This One Overlooked, Underused And Uniquely Quirky Resource @CarolLynnRivera https://www.facebook.com/WebSearchSocial evan austin of Graphics (and more!) by evan austin: Coming Out: Embracing Your Quirks Can Help Your Business @graphicsbyevan https://www.facebook.com/eadesign.me Melanie Kissell of Solo Mompreneur I Have that Face @MelanieKissell https://www.facebook.com/SoloMompreneur Sandi Amorim of Deva Coaching How to Embrace Your Quirky Bits @SandiAmorim https://www.facebook.com/devacoaching Michelle Church of Virtually Distinguished: Coming Out Secretly – Shh, Don’t Tell @virtuallyassist http://facebook.com/virtuallydistinguished And of course, Tea Silvestre, aka the Word Chef: Quirky Much? How Your Oddities, Flaws and Peculiar Habits Help Build a Stronger Brand @teasilvestre http://facebook.com/mywordchef Photo Credit: Anthony...
Read MoreOutsourcing: Everything You Never Knew You Wanted to Know & More
Solopreneurs and itty biz folks who know their stuff usually don’t have a problem getting customers. In fact, they usually get so busy, that other stuff begins to fall through the cracks. And when that happens? Well, it ain’t a pretty picture. Trust us. We’ve all been there. (And some of us are still there.) Here’s some of the best advice around on how (and why) to tackle this challenge head on: Sandy McDonald of Why You Must Blog: Outsource. Work ‘in flow’ and eschew the Peter Principle! @whyyoumustblog https://www.facebook.com/whyyoumustblog Sharon Hurley Hall of Get Paid to Write Online: Outsourcing Writing Jobs @SHurleyHall https://www.facebook.com/SharonHurleyHall Nick Armstrong, The Business Storyteller: The Danger of Doing Everything Yourself @WTFMarketing https://plus.google.com/+NickArmstrongWTF/ Annie Sisk of PJ Productivity: I Got What You Need: Outsourcing a Biz Need Increases Productivity @pjproductivity http://facebook.com/pajamaproductivity Clare Price of 5 Easy Pages: The Power of O @clarestweets Katrina Pfannkuch of Buzzwords Communications: Outsourcing for Your Small Business: A Choice for the Heart, Mind or Both? @creativekatrina http://www.facebook.com/pages/Buzzword-Communications-LLC/121760949393 Nicole Fende, A.S.A. of Small Business Finance Forum: Outsourcing to Upsize Your Profits @NicoleAFende https://www.facebook.com/SmallBizFinance Emily Suess of Suess’ Pieces: Crowdsourcing: A Solution for the Overworked Freelancer @EmilySuess http://facebook.com/SuesssPieces Eugene Farber of Reality Burst Five Signs You are Hiring the Wrong VA @EugeneFarber https://www.facebook.com/RealityBurst And of course, Tea Silvestre, aka the Word Chef: When You Just Need to Get ‘Er Done: Employees vs. Independent Contractors @teasilvestre http://facebook.com/mywordchef Be sure to read as many of the blog posts as you can. We’ll be chatting about the topic on Facebook most of this...
Read MoreMarket Research: How to Find Out What Your Ideal Customers Really, Really Want
A few weeks ago, I was listening in on the #QuirkyBiz Twitter chat and this question popped up: How the heck do I find out what my ideal prospects really want, who they are and where they hang out? Most of the other quirky biz owners echoed that sentiment, so I knew it would make a perfect blog topic. @teasilvestre Yeppers! Mon. at 2 pm Eastern, 1 Central, 12 Mountain, 11 PacificStandard or Daylight, whatever is in effect. Except in AZ — Tori Deaux (@ToriDeaux) March 27, 2012 And guess what? The rest of the Word Carnies agreed. So this month’s topic is: Market Research. Let’s get started, shall we? Sharon Hurley Hall of Get Paid to Write Online: Clients Think I’m Psychic @SHurleyHall https://www.facebook.com/SharonHurleyHall Nick Armstrong, The Business Storyteller: I Hate That – How Extreme Niches Connect You with What Your Ideal Customers Really Want @WTFMarketing https://plus.google.com/+NickArmstrongWTF/ Melanie Kissell of Solo Mompreneur: Put the Right Lure in Front of the Right Fish @MelanieKissell https://www.facebook.com/SoloMompreneur Clare Price of 5 Easy Pages: Fast and Easy Market Research the Social Way @clarestweets Katrina Pfannkuch of Buzzwords Communications: The Power of Getting Hooked on a Feeling @creativekatrina http://www.facebook.com/pages/Buzzword-Communications-LLC/121760949393 Nicole Fende, A.S.A. of Small Business Finance Forum: Put Your Time Where Their Money Is (Get Paid to Do Your Market Research) @BizFinanceForum https://www.facebook.com/SmallBizFinance Sandy McDonald of Why You Must Blog: Can I Solve Your Problem? @whyyoumustblog https://www.facebook.com/whyyoumustblog Emily Suess of Suess’ Pieces: Tips for Writing Polls and Surveys @EmilySuess http://facebook.com/SuesssPieces And of course, Tea Silvestre, aka the Word Chef: 7 Ways to Use Facebook to Find and Research Your Target Market @teasilvestre http://facebook.com/mywordchef Be sure to read as many of the blog posts as you can. We’ll be chatting about the topic on Facebook most of this...
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