Blogs

Featured Blogs

All Posts (198)

Sort by

In Home Office Tax Deductions

Posted by PB31 Woman on March 24, 2010 at 10:36am

Claiming tax deductions for an office in your home is one of the benefits enjoyed by many home-based business operators and telecommuters. Unfortunately, there are tests that need to be met and consequences to consider before you just jump right in and claim these deductions. You need carefully consider your options for several reasons, including:

  • There is some argument that claiming the Office in Home deductions makes you a target for an IRS audit. Opinions are mixed.
  • The IRS has specific requirements that you must meet in order to claim these deductions. Make sure you meet the requirements to the letter.
  • There are certain limitations on deductions and there are certain consequences of claiming some of the deductions, especially with regard to depreciation on your home should you decide to sell it later.

The best way to stay out of trouble is to only claim the Home Office deduction if you qualify, only to claim the expenses you are entitled to, and to properly document your expenses in case the IRS questions your eligibility or the amount of expenses you attempt to claim. When in doubt, consult a qualified tax professional (best choice) or contact the IRS for clarification - just be sure to document you communications with the IRS.

What Home Office Deductions are at Stake if You Qualify

If you meet the IRS' requirements for claiming the Home Office deduction on your tax return, you may be able to deduct a percentage of:

  • Your real estate property taxes on your home
  • Mortgage interest (Be careful not to claim the interest twice - once on Schedule A for your Itemized Deductions and a second time here. I've even had tax software programs trip me on this.)
  • Your rent payments if you are not a home owner
  • Utilities
  • Homeowners or Renter's insurance
  • Depreciation on your home (if you own)
  • Painting, and repairs. (Permanent improvements are added to the basis of your home for calculating depreciation and you can then recover these if you claim deprecation as part of your Home Office deduction.)

What is a Home for Tax Purposes?

The IRS defines a “home” as a house, condominium, apartment unit, or even a boat.

Who Qualifies for the Home Office Deduction?

Self-employed individuals who operate a home-business usually find it easy to qualify for the Home Office deductions. In some cases, telecommuters may also qualify to take some of the deductions.

There are two essential requirements you must meet in order to qualify for the deduction:

  1. You must use that part of your home regularly and exclusively for business purposes.
  2. The business part of your home must be either your principal place of business or the location where you meet with clients or customers in the normal course of conducting business. For detached garage or other separate structures, the requirement is only that the building is used in connections with your trade or business. You can also claim deductions if you use an area of your home for storage of inventory or product samples.

Special Requirements for Telecommuters

If you are employed by someone else and you use part of your home for business, you need to meet the previous tests PLUS:

  1. Your business use of your home must be for your employer's convenience, AND
  2. You can't be renting any part of your home to your employer and then use the rented portion to perform services for your employer.

What is Regular and Exclusive Use to the IRS?

The IRS gives several examples of regular and exclusive use. If your home is the only location of your business - except for perhaps a PO box or mailing service that you use as a mailing address - you can pretty much expect to qualify as long as you are operating a business and not a hobby. Many of us these days have virtual businesses - we don't generally see too many live customers "in the flesh" - so we would qualify. However, you still need to meet the exclusive use requirement - that the area of the home you are claiming is only used for your business - it doesn't even need to have partition walls - and not for any personal use whatsoever.

You must use a designated part of your home for business purposes on a continuous basis—not just occasionally for business.

If you use a computer in your home office, you cannot use this computer to send personal e-mails as doing so would disqualify you from taking the home office deduction. You can use the area of your home for more than one business but you cannot mix business with personal use.

IRS Exclusive Use Exceptions

The IRS provides that you do not have to meet the exclusive use requirement in either of these two cases:

  • You operate a licensed day care center in your home.
  • You store inventory or products for sale in your business.

In cases that meet these exceptions, personal use and business use may be mixed. With regard to inventory storage, you can only have mixed use of the area you use for storage if you do not have any other business location besides your home.

More IRS Restrictions and Requirements

Hang on to your hats. It even gets to be more fun to try to understand the IRS guidelines if you have more than one business location because you then have to show that your home is your principal place of business. To confuse the issue even more, a home will automatically qualify as a principal place of business if you conduct administrative or management activities of your business solely from your home and no other fixed location. For example, if you're a consultant, you may work at client sites and do all of your bookkeeping and invoicing from your home office. You would qualify because your are conducting administrative or management activities solely from your home.

Please visit the Online Virtual Lounge for valuable Business Tips:http://tinyurl.com/yazetnm

News You can use: http://blog.tcmandassociates.net

Read more…

THE POWER OF INTEGRATIVE THINKING

Posted by Dinndayal Morgan on March 24, 2010 at 5:06am
Good health, substantial wealth, and every harmonious personal or business relationship, deals with the aspect of integrative thinking.

What does that mean? Let's take a closer look.

For an example, at one time or another, we all have felt one thing but acted in another way which was inconsistent with how we felt. For example, you may have thoughts about what you need to do, and all you experience are just the thoughts without any connection of those thoughts to the feelings you are experiencing while entertaining those thoughts. We tend to miss all the valuable information being conveyed to us by what the feeling is telling us. Without "integrating" the thoughts and the feelings, usually, perhaps as much as 95% of the time, we are susceptible to taking an action that ends up being a mistake.

The power of Integrative Thinking says this:

Go into that place and you integrate the aspects of your thoughts, what you are feeling – in some circles we call that "heart-mind." This is the domain where you connect the heart with the mind. It is so valuable to integrate the heart and the mind so that they work as a team and are not separate from and unknown to each other.

How can you incorporate this method of Integrative Thinking in your life?

For example, take a look at a project are you working on, or a relationship you are engaged in, and evaluate the effectiveness of the project or relationship.



Suppose you are responsible for getting out a mailing at work. You typically begin with what we call the "nitty-gritty" of what is necessary to accomplish the task. You might define the task by writing it down, researching it, and making a task list, step by step. Then you can create a plan for getting it done. For example, with the mailing project, this might include things like contacting companies that sell mailing lists or companies that mail your information out for you. The goal is to create a plan that integrates every aspect of the project, taking into consideration that you may not be the best person to carry out every aspect of the project, but you will plan it, oversee it and make sure it gets done.

As another example, if you want to create a harmonious business organization, or if you want to develop a harmonious relationship with a person, either in a work context or in a personal relationship, it is important to look at the qualities of each person integrating all aspects of the person. There are four basic qualities, patterns or elements that we ought to consider:

1. Emotional Balance. Here we observe and assess the emotional aspect of where that person is really at. We ask ourselves, "Does this person tend to be emotionally stable or do they have a tendency to be emotionally unstable?"

2. Mental Balance. We observe and assess the person to be mentally stable or unstable.

3. Physical Balance. Is the person physically stable or physically unstable?

4. Spiritual Balance. Is the person spiritually stable or spiritually unstable?



Now when we come to spirituality, most people get confused and they say, "Well, doesn't that have to do with religion?" Well, not necessarily so. The term "spirituality" has to do with the inner-workings of things, the "behind the scenes" energy and activity within a person If we're talking about the term "religion", we're talking about methods set up, perhaps eons ago, in an effort to help a person to create a closer to relationship between themselves and what we call God.

It is key to look at the soul aspect of how we create things in our lives, and this involves a "Focus Point". What does it mean to have a "Focus Point"? What is the nature of a "Focus Point"?

As you start practicing the Power of Integrative Thinking, eventually you will be led to taking some sort of a physical action. Most people have a tendency to wait on things to happen or to wait for some kind of sign before taking a physical action. In truth, the action is already happening – you are physically "thinking" about it, aren't you? You have to be with the evolution of the though in partnership with your feelings and emotions as the physical action unfolds and identifies itself to you.

Most of us have had the feeling of being overwhelmed, especially if we are running or operating any kind of business. We feel we are doing too much, working too many hours, spending too much time on work-related activities. Based on what some psychologist have said, the truth of the matter is that feeling overwhelmed is really not about "overwhelm", but rather being caught up in the "anxiety of failure." It's the anxiety of failing that is really the key, not the notion of overwhelm. Consequently, we spend a great deal of time trying to "keep it together" because we fear failing or have a fear of loss.

I suggest that we can change our perspective when dealing with Overwhelm. We do this by formulating a pattern for our actions. For example, formulate a "mini-day" for a 3-day time period. Choose a day of the week and designate how your time will be spent throughout the day. You could design a "mini-day" as follows: I'll spend making calls for 2 hours, I'll work on work search for 1 hour, and the next hour I'll devote to study time. In other words, you put those things that need to be done within a designated time frame.

What we are saying here is you need to integrate aspects of the nitty gritty day to day with what it takes to accomplish the overall operation you are engaged in, whether it's dealing with an entrepreneurship, a business, an internet business, or dealing with a relationship. Look at and identify the Key Aspects of what is involved. Then from there formulate the system by which you will achieve your objectives.

There's another practice that will give you tremendous insight in helping with what we call the power of integrative thinking. It's what I call the Mood Graph. The Mood Graph really addresses how you experience the day-to-day things in your life, throughout the day. The Mood Graph is set up on a 30 or 31-day basis where you check mark the things about what's happening with you, in the morning time, in the noon time, and in the evening time. Throughout the day, our emotions, our mental perspective, our physical selves, and everything else changes throughout the day. The Mood Graph will help you to pinpoint or zero-in on exactly what's happening with you by check marking those things that happen throughout with day. Within three to four weeks the check marks on your graph will reveal to you your strengths and weaknesses with great specificity. You will then have the ability to apply your strengths or attend to your weaknesses appropriately. I believe you will find that the Mood Graph is a powerful technique. http://www.pathfinderinstitute.com/

So as you start to look at these things, and as you go further into the process, you will begin to identify, experience, and appreciate other ways that the Power of Integrative Thinking can be useful in your life.

And as always, in all things that you do, that you say, that you dream, You Gotta Have Heart.

Read more…

Virgin Indian Hair and Full Lace Wigs On Sale Ego Extensions 877-246-4914

Posted by Ego Extensions L.A. Lace Wigs on March 23, 2010 at 7:42pm

Come and experience California's Hot Spot!

Ego Extensions L.A. offers a Luxury Line of Remy Hair Extensions and Lace Wigs. Imagine beautiful, soft, luxurious hair that you can color, wash, straighten and style to your hearts desire. Our Lace Wigs and Extensions are made of 100% Premium Remy Hair.

Ego Extensions L.A. caters to an elite group of clientele.

Hollywood's A -Listing Actors, Singers, Dancers and Models.

Our hair comes imported from India, Brazil and Russia with only the most beautiful strands being hand chosen. Take this opportunity to shop on-line for what people are calling the most "ELITE HAIR ON THE MARKET ". Have questions? Contact us at info@egoextensions.com. We are always here to service our valued customers. We pride ourselves in selling high-end, premium hair that everyone can afford. So go ahead and indulge yourself....in Ego Extensions.

Read more…

Be Featured on our Magazine!!!

Posted by Dominique on March 23, 2010 at 6:45pm

From A Writer's POV is looking to book for future ads and interviews on our magazine. The spots we are looking for are:

Poet of the Month

Book of the Month (with an option to have your book on our book club)

Upcoming Author of the Month (new authors)

Business Owners of the Month

For info on these features, please check out more details here: http://fromawriterspovmagazine.com/issue/march-2010/section/interviews-ads

Look forward to hearing from you!

Dominique

Read more…

A Great Way to Learn about Black History

Posted by Zhana on March 23, 2010 at 1:30pm

If you have been reading my blogs for awhile, you know that I am a fan of London Black History Walks. Brother T. holds a series of ground-breaking Black history presentations at the Imperial War Museum and other venues.

What lies and misinformation have we been told about our history? What gaps are there in our knowledge? To find out more, please read this interview with Brother T. at London Black History Walks.


Read more…

COACHING CONFIDENT WOMENPRENEURS...With The Confidence Architect..

Posted by THE CONFIDENCE ARCHITECT on March 23, 2010 at 1:30pm

BUSINESS and ONLINE MARKETING COACHING


Coaching Confident
Womenpreneurs™
Business & Information Marketing Coaching
for Coaches, Speakers, Consultants, & Trainers
Reserve Your Complimentary 30-Min Session
*Our Exceptional Value Guarantee

Ivana, The Confidence Architect(TM)
Confidence & Prosperity Coach to Success Driven Women
ASPIRATION! INSPIRATION! EMPOWERMENT! MOTIVATION!:
The Confidence & Prosperity Ezine for Success Driven Women
Read more…

Websites

Posted by My H.A.L.O. on March 23, 2010 at 12:30am

I have gone back and forth on my website (myhaloonline.com) with the guestbook portion of my website. Because rape, sexual assault and domestic violence are such painful personal subjects, I wanted to make certain that it was simple and private. If you get a chance please stop by and sign the book. The link is on the lower right side of the home page. I could really use your help

Thanks everyone and best of luck in business

TEE

Read more…

Books on Money & Abundance That I Enjoy

Posted by Ten Nebula on March 22, 2010 at 11:40pm
Secrets of The Six-Figure Women by Stanny
Creating Money By Sanaya Romans
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Chopra
Money and The Law of Attraction by Hicks
What Rich People know and Desperately Want to Keep Secret by Sher
The Richest Man in Babylon by Clason
The ABC's of Getting Out of Debt by Sutton
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Kiyosaki
Creating Affluence by Chopra
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by Eker
Read more…

Twitter - Why I Will NOT Follow You Back

Posted by Tamyka Washington on March 22, 2010 at 11:00pm
There is clear reasoning behind my decision to NOT follow back everyone on Twitter who follows me first. Even though Twitter is a microblogging service, it is still a social network, a means to build connections and relationships with other people. I find some folks just don't get it.

Since I am able to choose what type of information flows through my Twitter stream, I only want to receive that which can benefit me and what I consider valuable enough to share with my following.

I do take time to visit the Twitter pages of all my new followers before I follow back because I want to get a sense of who they are and what they tweet about. I will even check out their website if I find their tweets super interesting!

I mean, I’m on Twitter because I want to mix and mingle with some cool and stimulating Tweeple…don’t you?

So, if you are following me on Twitter and I am NOT following you back, here may be your reason why:

You Have No Photo – Who are you, what do you look like? If I’m going to be sharing tweets with you, can I at least see what you look like?

Your Name is What? – I get you want to rep your business or company and that’s fine…as your twitter handle but what is your real name…maybe I want to google you or something.

What Do You Do? – It’s okay, I understand, you don’t have a website…but you don’t have 2 minutes to include a quick and simple Bio? Hmm…makes me wonder.

You Tried To Trick Me – You followed me with 3 different accounts, using 3 different photos and 3 different names. You may have gotten away with it had you not continued to tweet the same exact message on all 3 accounts at the exact same time….come on now. BLOCKED (yeah…all 3)

You Spammed Me – Maybe I gave you a chance, until you DM’d me 20 million times with the same message. If I didn’t subscribe, join or Retweet the first time…I’m NOT interested!

Your Best Friend is Automate – If I visit your Twitter page and your last 13 tweets are exactly the same, posted every hour on the hour, I already know you are planning to spam me, not interested.

Are You Serious? – Your following 2,000 people and only 5 are following you back and you have yet to tweet a single message…what? (I wonder why those 5 are even following)

Really…Private? – You want me to follow you back and your account is set to private? For what?

I just don’t know, maybe I’m being picky but those are some of the things that drive me a little bit crazy in Twitter world. All I’m looking for is real people who genuinely want to connect, share and see where our tweets can take us. You never know what can happen!

Want to Follow Me, I’m here: http://twitter.com/theceomamma


Read more…

Don't Let Easter Slip Away Without Getting Your Baby a Basket

Posted by Tamesha Salim on March 22, 2010 at 9:56pm
Easter is right around the corner, April 4th to be exact. Many of us celebrate by putting our babies on the fanciest dresses and accessories. The major accessory being an Easter basket. Then, we head off to our place of worship to let everyone bask in how beautiful our baby is. I have the perfect Easter basket accessory to match your babies outfit this year. the name of my company is LaBella Baskets. We specialize in gourmet gift baskets for every occasion. Right now we have a special for our first time customers. Check my site and let me know what you think.

www.mylabellabasket.net


Read more…

Stop worrying it only gives you Frown lines.

Posted by V. Ophelia Rigault on March 22, 2010 at 9:06pm

Have you had days when you just wanted to cry and cry and cry? I'm sure you've had. I know I've had those days. You feel so overwhelmed with your emotions that your body, mind and spirit needs a release - and the form of that release is your tears.

Thinkquest.com stated that "Benedict de Spinoza in the 17th century described emotions as bodily changes that result in the amplification or attenuation of action and as processes that can facilitate or impede action."

Today, there are many researchers who define emotions in many different ways. Most accept, that emotions operate on a number of levels and consist of:

Subjective feeling That is how you interpret a feeling. Your interpretation for example of 'being in love" is a personal experience and can be very different to the next person.

Expressive behaviour This refers to the outward signs that an emotion is being experienced. Such behaviour can be intentional or unintentional and includes facial expressions as well as body language.

Physiological responses This involves bodily changes which occur when we experience an emotion. This involves the operation of the brain.

Emotions/feelings come in many forms such as:
anger,
fear,
resentment,
sadness,
jealously
worry

I want to focus on worry. Leo Buscaglia says that 'worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy. " To me this is a very profound quote. We only have today, we can't change the past and we have no control of the future. To live powerfully - we need to live in the moment - but we at times are worrying about what we have done in our past - and worrying about our future that we never stop to still our mind and appreciate our present. In simply stopping and appreciating our present we can stop the worrying.

In the Christian Bible in 1 Peter 5: 6 -7 it says "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

I love live! And because I love life - I hate to worry. And I refuse to worry. My secret is to stop and still my mind - connect to my Divine - and imagine an altar - a worry altar (so to speak) - where I go and place my worries (case my anxieties) on the altar - and ask for them to be altered. It's a powerful technique that I use daily in my meditation, when I do yoga - or if it is a particularly tyring time - as I breath and walk.

But let's take a step back - to cast your cares on the Divine's altar - your first step is for you to believe that you're a Divine Child - and when you accept that you are a divine creature - a beautiful human being of light - of love - and of truth - you will know that our role in life is not to worry - but it's to live in a state of joy and peace.

I challenge you to hold this vision - to dare to know that you have a divine powerful energy within you - and when you hold this as fact - and accept it as reality - you will have the confidence to let go of your worry - and let God/the Divine/a Higher Source do the work.

I'm a diva (not a prima donna) a diva - and because the word diva comes from 'Deity' so I have full confidence that when I leave my worries on God's altar IT WILL be altered.

Besides worrying gives me frown lines!

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” Buddah


Listen and discover more tips on controlling your emotions on my radio show Soul Talk.


Namaste,
Ophelia

Read more…

What "America's Next Top Model" can teach us about perseverance

Posted by Jamie Fleming-Dixon on March 22, 2010 at 7:00pm

Happy Monday, ladies!

You may not know it, but I'm a huge fan of America's Next Top Model, and I have been since it first aired back in 2003. The season 14 premiere was a couple of weeks ago, and one contestant, Krista, really stood out to me because she said she tried out for ANTM for most, if not all, seasons-- that's seven years!
Most people would have given up after the first year, and while I agree you should know when to go for a different goal, you shouldn't be so quick to give up on it- especially if it's your dream and something you're really passionate about.
Becoming successful and living your dreams takes time and work, and I think Krista really proves that. Modeling is a cut-throat industry, but she came back year after year to go after what she really wanted' and she ultimately got a spot on the show. Even if she doesn't win the title, I think she'll still be a successful model because she seems to be that determined.
What can we learn? If being an entrepreneur is your goal and you know it's what you were put here to do, don't give up until you get there.
Get more tips and resources like this on my blog, Mocha Writes.

Mocha Writer

"Quality copywriting that works"

Read more…

Autism Awareness Month is Coming. Participate in this great Campaign

Posted by Angela Cooper on March 22, 2010 at 5:27pm

File?id=dcjf3gh5_9hdvwgdct_b


As many of you know, Autism affects 1 in 110 children, 1 in 70 boys. That means for every 70 boys in a room, one of them will have autism. It also means, my son would be one of those boys. Many of you know that I am a mother of a 10 year old autistic boy. I've blogged about him before, but today I am blogging about him to help raise awareness of the "Light It Up Blue Campaign".

Emmanuel, my son, has got to the be the happiest little boy I know. He doesn't let his autism stop him from doing anything. Autism affects his comprehension which makes it difficult for him to be in a normal classroom setting. He has to learn at his own pace, but he cannot tell you what he did in school today. You see, autism truly is like a puzzle for him. Image trying to put a puzzle together that has 500 pieces. It can't be done easily. Some would categorize the puzzle pieces by colors or shapes and then try to make them match one another. Can you think of how frustrating that would be and how long it would take. That's how autism affects my son. Learning does not come easy for him. And for us it is a learning lesson. We learn something new about Manny and Autism everyday. Manny's sensitivity level is probably triple the amount of ours, So loud noises can be very irritating for him and even a low steady buzz like the sound of a bumble bee. But at the same time, Manny can tell you everything you need to know about Nascar. From who drives what number car, and who their sponsor is. You can't teach him how to play a game on Wii, you just give him the controls and he learns it automatically. You see, Manny is a visual learner. He'll watch you and figure it out. Telling him is too much instruction and he'll just say "okay, okay, okay". That means, stop wasting your breath, because you're not teaching me correctly.

I'm helping the folks at Autism Speaks spread the work about their new Light it Up Blue Campaign. We'd like you, on April 2nd here's some things you can do to light it up blue:

  • Wear your Autism Speaks puzzle piece pin every day throughout the month of April, and tell people about autism if they ask about it.
  • Change your Facebook profile picture to the Light It Up Blue logo and tag at least 10 of your friends. (just copy the picture above).
  • Post on your blog about how you are “lighting it up blue” to raise autism awareness. Blog about your child or someone you know who lives with autism
  • Add the Light It Up Blue logo to your e-mail signature … and type your e-mails in blue!
  • On April 2 wear blue clothing and ask your co-workers, schools and friends to wear blue too. Take pictures and add them to our Flickr gallery.
  • Bake puzzle piece shaped cookies and frost them with blue icing, then bring them to your school, work or place of worship to raise autism awareness.

WEBSITE INFO
To learn more about the Light It up Blue Campaign we invite you to visit their website at
http://www. lightitupblue.org . To learn more about Autisum go to the Autism Speaks website at http://www.autismspeaks.org.

WHERE YOU CAN HEAR US
My Girl, Christie Crowder from the Chatterbox Radio Show has asked me to be a guest on her show on April 2nd. We will also be joined by a representative from Autism Speaks.org. So be sure to tell your followers to come into the chat room and if they have a child who is autistic be sure to call in and share their expericences. Here's the link .http://www.blogtalkradio.com/chatterboxradio

TWEET ABOUT IT
When tweeting on April 2nd be sure to use the #autismspeaks hashtag and if you'd like to add a twibbon to your twitter and FB page. Just go right here.

I'd like to Thank each and every one of you who are participating in raising awareness with this campaign.


Angela Cooper


File?id=dcjf3gh5_10fq3g6fcd_b
Read more…

Technology, Tools and Talk - 90 Small Business Videos From Me to You!

Posted by LaShanda Henry on March 22, 2010 at 2:00pm
Hey guys! I am on a mission to get back to my roots of giving and share some of my best small business, internet marketing, and social media marketing tips with you. For the next 90 days I will be video blogging everyday, so I hope you have subscribed to SistaSense, so that you can get each video as they are posted. Truth be told I have already completed all videos, 91 to be exact and I did them in the last two days! I wanted to make sure I stick to my promise, so I got them all done just for you and am currently uploading videos to my youtube channel (feel free to subscribe to that as well). Here is a quick intro video about my Technology, Tools and Talk Project. Expect the first video tomorrow! This is a video blog post. If you can not view the video click here. Video: Hooray! I finished my 90 videos in 2 days! Video: In case you are wondering... why I decided to crank out 90 videos in 2 days! Remember: To watch all videos be sure to subscribe to sistasense.com.
Read more…

What's Your New Scent This Spring?...Find it in your SOUL PURPOSE Journey!

Posted by THE CONFIDENCE ARCHITECT on March 22, 2010 at 2:00pm

What a Great Way to BRING SPRING!

What's Your New Scent This Spring?

Hummm... Let's See...Shop Now

Stay Connected and Get Your Beautiful Complimentary ECard

filled with Special, Discounts, Events, and Coaching Special from

The Confidence Architect(TM) BEGIN NOW!

Read more…

Are you minding your business?

Posted by Marlene McCray on March 22, 2010 at 5:05am

At times people and things get in our way because we feel the need to appease everyone that comes along. We forget the simple things such as a kind word or a smile that can impact our day in such a delightful way and raise the bar for us in our business. So today...

Do you feel tired from giving too much? Are you involved in a co-dependent relationship that you can't seem to let go of and its affecting your business? Are you growing your business at the same time growing and embracing you " A leader of your business" ? More specifically, are you in the right business?

Ladies if you are you passionately minding your business then it will show. It will show as your business grows with new prospects, clients, initiatives, additional networking ideas etc. Set the tone for your business today and the rest as they say is history!

God Bless,

Marlene McCray, MS

Personal Development Trainer & Compass Representative

http://www.fallintoyou.com

.






Read more…

WDGP Radio

Posted by Ladee16 on March 21, 2010 at 6:00pm
Hello everyone. I am the Station Manger and Programmer for WDGP radio. If you haven't yet had an opportunity to check us out, please visit us at WDGP

I have always believed and shared that each of us has a path to follow and if we follow that path we can not fail. Since I have put that into practice, it has been an amazing journey. I started out as a blogtalk radio host and then went on to have a show on Internet Radio and from there to having my own 24 hour, 365 days a year Internet Radio Station.. It is so true that networking helps you get to where you want to go, even if your not exactly sure where that is. This is where the path comes in. All I really know is that I wanted to help people, because helping others is the real secret. I have always been taught from a child on ( and it has proven true time and time again ) that if you help others you really help yourself and doesn't it make the world a more beautiful place when we help each other?

I help the Independent Musical Artists, Author, Spoken Word Artist and Poet get the word out about themselves and their projects as well as the the business owner get the word out about their business, product or service. Ah, the satisfaction of knowing that I am helping so many others is sometimes overwhelming but, it makes all my efforts worthwhile.

On WDGP we play the best of Independent music from all genres including but not limited to Gospel, Hip-Hop, Rhythm and Blues, Soul, Neo-Soul, Old School, Pop, Top 40, Blues etc. WDGP will not be put into a box, if the music moves you and poetry makes you feel something, it can be heard on WDGP Radio.The music and the interviews are done at no cost to the Artist. We are supported by donations (you can contribute to us through Paypal via link on our website.) and advertising. Advertising on WDGP is very affordable. We air your advertising spot of 30 - 60 seconds at a much more economical price then traditional radio or print media.

If you are an Independent Artists with a project to be promoted you can go to our website and click on Submissions to find out how to get your project heard not just on WDGP, but many other Internet Radio stations.

If you seek advertising, please contact us at advertising@wdgpradio.com

I am looking forward to networking and assisting you in any way I can. Thanks for reading and please check out WDGP radio.
Read more…

Does The Author Have A Voice In The eBook Debate

Posted by Tracy on March 21, 2010 at 5:30pm

As publishers and booksellers debate the usefulness of electronic reading devices, along with who is benefiting the most and how are book sells being affected; owners of these devices are becoming increasing concerned over the price they will pay for ebooks. Precedence seems to have been set, that ebooks should cost little or nothing at all.

An author pens a novel, which takes time, creativity, and in some cases, money out of their pocket to produce and market. For some it is their lively hood, and for others it is just a hobby. Along comes the eBook that is designed to cut cost, in terms of material and other publishing costs, and some may see it as a quick way to make extra income. The focus quickly turned from the book itself to how certain entities can profit from the downloads. Soon after we had software such as the Kindle and the Nook. The central target became selling the devices and whatever happens with the books, so be it.

When I released my first novel, “He Loves Me He Loves Me Not!” I had no real knowledge of ebooks. As I began to see writers selling their work for .99 cents, a $1.99, etc, I thought it was crazy. Why would I take something I poured me heart and soul into producing and then practically give it away? A couple of authors even provided me with free downloads, asking that I read their work and provide them with feedback. I must admit, I couldn’t read the work because I’m old-fashioned and love actual books. Even when Steve Harvey’s “Act Like A Lady Think Like A Man” showed up in my inbox (which is another topic in itself), I couldn’t sit at the computer and read it. And printing these books seemed to defeat the purpose. Then someone reached out to me and suggested offering my title on Kindle. I did some research and decided, why not. Within days I had sold several downloads and over the past year they continue to trickle in one by one.

Now, I rarely promote my Kindle books. I list on my sites, in newsletters, and if I see someone with a device I share literature on my work, letting it be known that my books are available for download. Recently, I received some information on an author who has had great success with her Kindle books. I read the article and was impressed by her numbers. Her debut novel had thousands of ebook downloads, which ultimately increased her physical book sales. This heightened my interest, and I began to search the net for other success stories to see how authors were marketing their ebooks, since the article did not say. What I discovered is that authors, especially little known ones, are selling their work for less than $2.00. However, they are still finding themselves in competition with the big publishing houses who are giving books away for free. I hear Amazon does not allow independent writers to offer free ebooks. Hhmm, maybe I need to have a sale on my ebooks to see how I do, maybe offer them for $1.99 for a limited time.

All of this sounded like a good idea, I guess, when the popularity of these reading devices was low, but now that sells have increased, and physical books are taking a dive, someone has finally realized that maybe free or low-cost isn’t always better. I was on the web today and owners of these devices were voicing concern that publishers are now delaying the release of ebooks until physical books have been on the market for several weeks and reached a threshold, and others were upset to see the electronic book version at a price comparable to the physical copies. It’s kind of reminiscent of when the hardcover book was released and you had to wait for the paperback, which was less expensive. These conversations, however, did not support the notion that a person who buys an ebook may later purchase a physical book. Ebook readers, from what I can tell are happy with their reading devices and even happier with the very low prices of these books, not to mention you can’t beat free.

Reading various blogs and comments reaffirmed my initial concern about ebooks, which is, where do the author fit in. If there was no author, there would be no books to read. So why it is that author’s are not being seriously considered in the debate. No one seems to care if the author is paid for their work, or how much. Is it because there is a misconception that authors are paid a great deal up front for their work, regardless if they sell or not? And what about the independent writer who bares all the expense of getting their work out and into the hands of readers; is this the price they must pay, as one article put it, to gain notoriety and let people know they exist. Or, is there a misunderstanding in terms of royalties paid on ebooks? Some say that the royalty is higher. This may be true but keep in mind; royalties are a percentage of the price of the book, the lower the price the lower the royalty, meaning the author must now pray for larger sells volumes. As this debate continues I would love to see more consideration paid to the author. We know the majority of us will not retire off of book sells alone, but we still want to be a part of the decisions being made, based off the work we produce.

Much Love,

Tracy

Tracy L. Darity is the author of “He Loves Me He Loves Not!" which received the 2009 Best Fiction Author, presented by the Multicultural Literature Advocacy Group; and her new release, "Love…Like Snow In Florida On A Hot Summer Day."

To learn more, visit www.TracyLDarity.com, and www.TracyLDarity.ning.com. You can also follow her on Amazon, Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter; keyword TracyLDarity.
Read more…

Latest Blog Posts

Most Popular Blog Posts

Blog Topics by Tags

Monthly Archives