Well, I had mixed success and failure this week. The week turned out to be a lot more hectic than I thought it was going to be and that kept me lagging behind a bit. Still, I should be able to get going on some of them THIS week.
My hubby and I never had a chance to work on pictures and logos, but we should be able to do so tomorrow (I have the day off, yay!). I haven't had time to put a lot of thought into my mission statement... again, my hope is that tomorrow will help take care of a lot of this.
And, obviously, I am a day late in updating my blog this week. A day late is a whole lot better than it could be. Not to mention that I'll probably get two posts in this week!
I did get a Squidoo lens up. If you're interested you can check it out at http://www.squidoo.com/clothdiaperbusiness. It is far from finished, but I'm hoping that my continual updates will help me keep it fresh for a while.
Speaking of Squidoo, it is one of my new favorite things! It's kind of a mixture of webhost, blog, and social media... all with a twist. I highly recommend checking it out in order to drive traffic to your blog or website! It is also a very cool and different way to make a few extra bucks for yourself OR for a charity (or for yourself AND for a charity)! Many people use it just for the fun of it!
Well, I'm off to spend a little time with the hubby before bed. Look for another post from me later this week!
G'night!
Monday, August 24, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
The Goal Post!
I really like the possible double meaning of this blog post! Each meaning applies in a very different way. In one way, this is the post about goals. In the other way - this is where I put these goals down as a post by which I can measure my success.
We don't always achieve the goals we set out for ourselves. It's true that no matter how hard we try, sometimes we fall short. Sometimes we lose the ball game. The trick is to not let yourself become deflated when you are defeated. You set another goal for yourself and you bring your game face to the next ball game - aiming not to be defeated again.
I don't say any of this to provide myself any loopholes. I say all of this as encouragement to those of you who have set goals for yourself, your life or your career that you haven't met. Take a deep breath, get up, brush yourself off and get ready for round two! Then, at some point in the future, in the midst of your mingled successes and failures, you can provide encouragement to people like me in the midst of failure but on the way to success.
This, for my business anyway, is round one.
Goal #1 - A Business Plan!
- This one scares me! All the more reason for it to be Goal #1. My goal is to have a rough business plan in place within one month's time. (By September 16, 2009... 4 days before my due date - so I'd better get started now!) It will be edited and tweaked after that time I am sure, but I need to have the basic outline at least!
Goal #2 - A Mission Statement!
- Honestly, this one is a little scary too. I've been knocking around a few ideas in this regard but I might be a little bit too caught up in having the perfect mission statement. My goal is to have a mission statement drafted in one weeks time (by August 23, 2009). This will, I believe, provide valuable insight while I am working on my business plan.
Goal # 3 - Squidoo lenses
- This may be the most fun one on my list! My goal is to have at least one, fully functional, published Squidoo lense going within one weeks time... which leads me to...
Goal #4 - Logo and pictures
- I've been needing to do this for a long time! My goal is to work with my husband to come up with an appropriate logo (and some good pictures too) for use on this blog, my twitter account, my Squidoo Lenses, etc.
Goal # 5 - Updates!
- Actually this one has been an unofficial goal of mine for a while. My goal is to update my blog at least once a week and post a Twitter update at least 5 times a week, barring any unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances... and also barring the time when I am giving birth/in the hospital... it's very possible I will take that week OFF.
Well, that's my list. I believe they are all specific, measurable and realistic. I have some personal goals as well that I am working on, but I won't be posting those here for the time being.
The clock is ticking and I'm ready to tackle these. For now, however, I believe I, my family AND my business would be best served by my going to bed.
Good night all.
We don't always achieve the goals we set out for ourselves. It's true that no matter how hard we try, sometimes we fall short. Sometimes we lose the ball game. The trick is to not let yourself become deflated when you are defeated. You set another goal for yourself and you bring your game face to the next ball game - aiming not to be defeated again.
I don't say any of this to provide myself any loopholes. I say all of this as encouragement to those of you who have set goals for yourself, your life or your career that you haven't met. Take a deep breath, get up, brush yourself off and get ready for round two! Then, at some point in the future, in the midst of your mingled successes and failures, you can provide encouragement to people like me in the midst of failure but on the way to success.
This, for my business anyway, is round one.
Goal #1 - A Business Plan!
- This one scares me! All the more reason for it to be Goal #1. My goal is to have a rough business plan in place within one month's time. (By September 16, 2009... 4 days before my due date - so I'd better get started now!) It will be edited and tweaked after that time I am sure, but I need to have the basic outline at least!
Goal #2 - A Mission Statement!
- Honestly, this one is a little scary too. I've been knocking around a few ideas in this regard but I might be a little bit too caught up in having the perfect mission statement. My goal is to have a mission statement drafted in one weeks time (by August 23, 2009). This will, I believe, provide valuable insight while I am working on my business plan.
Goal # 3 - Squidoo lenses
- This may be the most fun one on my list! My goal is to have at least one, fully functional, published Squidoo lense going within one weeks time... which leads me to...
Goal #4 - Logo and pictures
- I've been needing to do this for a long time! My goal is to work with my husband to come up with an appropriate logo (and some good pictures too) for use on this blog, my twitter account, my Squidoo Lenses, etc.
Goal # 5 - Updates!
- Actually this one has been an unofficial goal of mine for a while. My goal is to update my blog at least once a week and post a Twitter update at least 5 times a week, barring any unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances... and also barring the time when I am giving birth/in the hospital... it's very possible I will take that week OFF.
Well, that's my list. I believe they are all specific, measurable and realistic. I have some personal goals as well that I am working on, but I won't be posting those here for the time being.
The clock is ticking and I'm ready to tackle these. For now, however, I believe I, my family AND my business would be best served by my going to bed.
Good night all.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Goal Setting
In my place of employment we talk often about goals. Some people have sales goals. Other people have time goals (such as answering all emails within 24 hours). Others have goals about getting certain projects done or getting certain problems resolved.
We talk so often about the things that make good goals. They must be specific, measurable, realistic. It's time I take all this goal setting talk and apply it to my everyday personal life and my business.
I'll be working on my personal business goals this week and will report back next week (if not before). That's my goal and I'm sticking to it!
We talk so often about the things that make good goals. They must be specific, measurable, realistic. It's time I take all this goal setting talk and apply it to my everyday personal life and my business.
I'll be working on my personal business goals this week and will report back next week (if not before). That's my goal and I'm sticking to it!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Balance
Balance. I hear it talked about all the time. People everywhere are trying so hard to find balance in their lives. It seems with so many modern "conveniences" balance would be so much easier to achieve. Alas, as quickly as we can do something more quickly or conveniently we almost automatically shove something into the time we find by doing so. We aren't happy, it seems, unless we are busy. I would argue that we aren't happy being so busy either.
I would imagine that in some ways this is an age old problem... because I would imagine that in most cases busyness is the symptom, rather than the problem. A symptom of what? I'm sure that varies from case to case. For many depression and fear can lead to a desire to be busy so that they don't have time to think about anything. For others, it could simply be poor judgment or an inability to say "no" to anything. I'm sure there are many other reasons... and then there are those who are busy out of necessity. I feel I fall into that category.
I have a lot to take care of! I'm working full time for a company I love, taking care of my family, and trying to start a business. When I do have extra time I try to have a social life.
Some will ask why I'm adding a business to the mix. Surely that alone is adding to the busyness issue! I understand why that would be hard to grasp. It seems like the only expendable item on that list. So why add the business? So that later, I can cut down on the busyness.
If I can stay focused and intense on taking care of all of this then by the grace of GOD I can get this business off the ground and come home to work for myself and my family alone. Being in business is not easy - I am under no illusions that it is - but I am convinced that it is the best way to provide a better life for myself and my family.
Meanwhile I struggle to find balance. How do you balance devotion to GOD, family, work, and business goals? There are only 24 hours in a day and to devote time to all of the necessary areas of life sometimes seems impossible. I can only say that I'm working on it and that hopefully, by the time I figure it out things will settle down some and it will be even easier to find balance. For now I focus on why I'm doing all of it and try to minimize the guilt I feel for sometimes letting a ball or two drop.
I would imagine that in some ways this is an age old problem... because I would imagine that in most cases busyness is the symptom, rather than the problem. A symptom of what? I'm sure that varies from case to case. For many depression and fear can lead to a desire to be busy so that they don't have time to think about anything. For others, it could simply be poor judgment or an inability to say "no" to anything. I'm sure there are many other reasons... and then there are those who are busy out of necessity. I feel I fall into that category.
I have a lot to take care of! I'm working full time for a company I love, taking care of my family, and trying to start a business. When I do have extra time I try to have a social life.
Some will ask why I'm adding a business to the mix. Surely that alone is adding to the busyness issue! I understand why that would be hard to grasp. It seems like the only expendable item on that list. So why add the business? So that later, I can cut down on the busyness.
If I can stay focused and intense on taking care of all of this then by the grace of GOD I can get this business off the ground and come home to work for myself and my family alone. Being in business is not easy - I am under no illusions that it is - but I am convinced that it is the best way to provide a better life for myself and my family.
Meanwhile I struggle to find balance. How do you balance devotion to GOD, family, work, and business goals? There are only 24 hours in a day and to devote time to all of the necessary areas of life sometimes seems impossible. I can only say that I'm working on it and that hopefully, by the time I figure it out things will settle down some and it will be even easier to find balance. For now I focus on why I'm doing all of it and try to minimize the guilt I feel for sometimes letting a ball or two drop.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Of Domain Names and the web-experience-challenged
Yesterday I managed to register my domain name.
After hearing suggestions from several people to go with Godaddy.com I went with Godaddy.com. Registering there is cheaper than any other place I have found and all the web geeks I know seem to think it's a good place so I saw no reason not to go with them. My experience was a little more complicated than I expected, but not bad by any means.
The good: Price and the fact that the people who know what they're talking about recommend them. It's easy to look up the domain name you want and go from there.
The bad: If you don't know what you're doing it get's complicated quickly. I'm sure that anyone with a clue would have been registered in under 5 minutes. It took me nearly 30 because they kept asking me questions I didn't know the answer to and I would have to research the question before I could answer it. I wonder if there is a "Domain Name Registration for [insert deragatory term for someone who isn't very smart here]" book somewhere.
Overall: It was the only option for me. The research I did left competitors in the dust! $9.99 a year for a .com is just the best deal out there. If they were to ask me what to do to increase my rating I would have to say that they could make it a bit more foolproof and/or explain things a bit better to those who have no clue what they are doing. :-)
If I had to grade it: 3.0 (B)
I also had some fun "pointing" my domain name at this blog. Although I'm going to change the method a bit. Apparently you can "forward" your domain name to a different website and the website that you forward to will still show up as the address that you are going to. (IE - type in www.clothdiaperadventurer.com and the address bar will change to http://clothdiaperadventurer.blogspot.com when you get to my blog). What I think I want to do is called "masking" in which the actual site's address is covered up by the web address that is forwarded to it. (IE - type in www.clothdiaperadventurer.com and you end up at my blog while still seeing www.clothdiaperadventurer.com in the address bar).
Maybe I ought to write the Domain Names for [insert deragatory term for someone who isn't very smart] book myself as I learn! :-)
After hearing suggestions from several people to go with Godaddy.com I went with Godaddy.com. Registering there is cheaper than any other place I have found and all the web geeks I know seem to think it's a good place so I saw no reason not to go with them. My experience was a little more complicated than I expected, but not bad by any means.
The good: Price and the fact that the people who know what they're talking about recommend them. It's easy to look up the domain name you want and go from there.
The bad: If you don't know what you're doing it get's complicated quickly. I'm sure that anyone with a clue would have been registered in under 5 minutes. It took me nearly 30 because they kept asking me questions I didn't know the answer to and I would have to research the question before I could answer it. I wonder if there is a "Domain Name Registration for [insert deragatory term for someone who isn't very smart here]" book somewhere.
Overall: It was the only option for me. The research I did left competitors in the dust! $9.99 a year for a .com is just the best deal out there. If they were to ask me what to do to increase my rating I would have to say that they could make it a bit more foolproof and/or explain things a bit better to those who have no clue what they are doing. :-)
If I had to grade it: 3.0 (B)
I also had some fun "pointing" my domain name at this blog. Although I'm going to change the method a bit. Apparently you can "forward" your domain name to a different website and the website that you forward to will still show up as the address that you are going to. (IE - type in www.clothdiaperadventurer.com and the address bar will change to http://clothdiaperadventurer.blogspot.com when you get to my blog). What I think I want to do is called "masking" in which the actual site's address is covered up by the web address that is forwarded to it. (IE - type in www.clothdiaperadventurer.com and you end up at my blog while still seeing www.clothdiaperadventurer.com in the address bar).
Maybe I ought to write the Domain Names for [insert deragatory term for someone who isn't very smart] book myself as I learn! :-)
Monday, July 6, 2009
Resource #2
Name of Resource: Entrepreneur.com
Location of Resource: http://www.entrepreneur.com/
The Good: A TON of information for long-time business owners and for those looking to get started. Great ideas, inspirational stories, and more!
The Bad: It's a bit overwhelming if you're just getting started. There is way more information than any one person needs and it can take a bit of sifting to find things that apply to you specifically.
Overall: I like it. I've even signed up for a trial issue of Entrepreneur Magazine (will let you know how that goes).
If I had to grade it: 3.5 (B +)
Notes: For those mothers, like myself, looking to start your own business consider searching for "mompreneurs" on the site. That's the real jewel for me!
Location of Resource: http://www.entrepreneur.com/
The Good: A TON of information for long-time business owners and for those looking to get started. Great ideas, inspirational stories, and more!
The Bad: It's a bit overwhelming if you're just getting started. There is way more information than any one person needs and it can take a bit of sifting to find things that apply to you specifically.
Overall: I like it. I've even signed up for a trial issue of Entrepreneur Magazine (will let you know how that goes).
If I had to grade it: 3.5 (B +)
Notes: For those mothers, like myself, looking to start your own business consider searching for "mompreneurs" on the site. That's the real jewel for me!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Resource #1
I have decided to try a different approach to listing my resources. This will allow me to spill the details about what I like and don't like about the particular resources. Today is my first installment.
Name of Resource: Diaper Decisions
Location of resource: www.diaperdecisions.com
The good: There is a good bit of information for someone who is just getting started. A lot of free downloads. They also host The Great Cloth Diaper Hunt once or twice a year. This is a brilliant way to bring publicity to many cloth diapering and related sites. Once I get started I will HAVE to look into being a part of The GCDH!! Great forums to join!
The bad: Not a very attractive site as far as appearances are concerned. Not updated very often.
Overall: I like it! It could not be my only resource but it gives a stable foundation of knowledge on which to build. It will be awesome for gaining business if I can get into the GCDH!
If I had to grade it: 3.5 (B+)
Name of Resource: Diaper Decisions
Location of resource: www.diaperdecisions.com
The good: There is a good bit of information for someone who is just getting started. A lot of free downloads. They also host The Great Cloth Diaper Hunt once or twice a year. This is a brilliant way to bring publicity to many cloth diapering and related sites. Once I get started I will HAVE to look into being a part of The GCDH!! Great forums to join!
The bad: Not a very attractive site as far as appearances are concerned. Not updated very often.
Overall: I like it! It could not be my only resource but it gives a stable foundation of knowledge on which to build. It will be awesome for gaining business if I can get into the GCDH!
If I had to grade it: 3.5 (B+)
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