All of us here at the Biz Channel are having a contest this month. We are giving a sort of “dream” post about what we want to be when we grow up. The deadline is midnight tonight, so there’s still time to get your entry in. The rules are here, and there are some really cool prizes in store for the one whose comments garners the most attention.
But, for now, here is my dream post.

[photo source: my mommy camera]
When I was a young girl, like almost every other little girl, I wanted to be a teacher. I so wanted the …read more

[photo: ourdailybreadmealstogo.com]
As a work-from-home mom, my marketing challenges are often related to finding my clients and assessing their needs. Unlike a brick-and-mortar business, clients don’t come to me – – I have to go to them. And couple that with a service industry like the one I provide (church marketing and professional speaking), the challenges broaden and become a bit harder to define.
Knowing what your customers want can be simple and not so simple. Sure you can ask questions and perform market research analyses, but will that give you a true picture of their needs? Perhaps so, perhaps not. The …read more

Yes, it’s that time again. Time to write down all of my goals, resolutions, promises, “to-do’s” and want-to-do’s. Only thing is, I usually give up on them all within the first week of writing them down! So, nix on the resolution thing.
There is one thing though that I am mentally planning on doing differently in 2008. My plans for my business(es) are to grow it to a level that I’ve only been dreaming of. Sure, we all have business goals. But do we actually take the steps necessary to reach those goals? Sometimes we don’t. We look at others and …read more

Well, I’m back from my fun Toastmaster’s conference weekend in sunny Ft. Walton Beach Florida! Only thing is, for me it wasn’t so sunny… or so fun.
I had MANY challenges this weekend, the largest one being a hoarse voice. When I gave the business presentation tips on Friday, that was one thing I left off discussing. That is, ways to compensate in your presentation if you lose your voice or have a very sore throat. Although there is no way to tell when this will happen, when it does occur, it can be embarassing and costly. When you are a presenter …read more

Which do you wear for those “important” events?
I recently competed in a speaking contest with my local speaking club, Toastmaster’s International. This contest was a vie for the World’s Greatest Speaker, as per Toastmaster’s standards, and is highly competitive in the world of professional speaking. People who compete in the contest prepare for months, some even years, to win that coveted, lusted title as the greatest speaker in the world.
I had been preparing on the club level for weeks. I had sized up my competition, tweaked my speech and confidently decided that I had this contest “in the bag.”  I had stage presence, …read more