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Crown Jewel Cake with Jaconde Sponge

Each time this cake is sliced, it’s like getting a little piece of artwork.  You never know what shapes and colors you’ll get next!

Grab the recipe today!

If you're trying to get some media exposure for yourself or your business, one of the most important things you need to know is "Who's Who" in a newsroom.  Not understanding who calls the shots for precious airtime will have your hopes quickly fading to black.

Here are some of the key people to know in radio and television:

• News Director/Assignment Editor - Determines what news goes on the air. Handles all news releases.

• Editorial Director - Person to contact to offer editorial comment or to respond to a station editorial.

• Community Bulletin Board Director - Person to contact for announcing meetings and other community-related (normally FREE)events.

• Public Service/Community Relations Director - Contact for public service announcements (PSAs), pubic affairs talk shows or community calendar listings.

For national talk shows, the key contact is the Producer. For example, Gina Sprehe was one of the many Producers for the Oprah Show. Having her direct email and phone number was a BIG PLUS for contact purposes.

It would also be in your best interest to find out the NAMES of all media contacts and establish a relationship with them so they become familiar with you when you call or write.

If it's your time to shine, the BAMedia Contacts Directory can help you turn on the spotlight.  Get your copy here for the low price of $29  http://beverlymahone.com/bammedia/bamedia-directory/

At around 3:00pm on Monday, July 18, 2011, that is how I felt. Just leave one more message and if the muscle behind Fa Sho Entertainment does not call me back then, on to the next Savannah music event. In between 3:15pm and maybe 3:20pm, I get the call. Hi, I am looking for… I answer back wrong number that is not me, phone goes click. I wait, pick my phone back up look at the number and realize oh no… that was for me. I had called the contacts for Fa Sho Entertainment since last Friday, just trying to get an interview. Here they are calling me for the wrong person. I love a serendipitous adventure. I picked up the cell and highlighted their number and pushed send. The conversation was brief and they were friendly. I asked them to give me an hour and I will see you shortly, they gave me name of the undisclosed location where we could meet.

I was rushing to get there. I entered the lobby to see them sitting on the couches and I get right into it. I introduce myself and first foremost thank them for bringing such a great event to the Low Country. July 30th, 2011 The “Love Letters Tour” featuring R. Kelly. R. Kelly is great; by far the Marvin Gaye of our times, however the featuring acts are what got my interest. I have been to Coachella Festival in Indio, California, and have heard many undiscovered or lost talent in many bars throughout the country. I remember a year ago texting my fellow music head look out for Marsha Ambrosius and Miguel, new twist to R&B but your ears will love it. This whole set list is full of talented performers, all are worth their asking ticket price because they know how to put on a show.

I have one contact negotiating the rooming list. I have two starring me down and one ready to answer my questions. This is my interview with Fa Sho Entertainment.

To see the interview log on www.theamandaseries.com

For those looking to start a home based business, the Network Marketing business model is the top choice for most women and moms because it offers simple startup options, no educational requirements and usually, a minimal investment.

There are many companies that offer independent representatives or consultants, the ability to earn a commission on products and services they sell. These direct sales companies such as; Mary Kay, Avon and Tupperware, offer women a way to be able to earn a part time or full time income from home by marketing their products directly to consumers.

Anyone can be successful in the direct sales industry even without having sales or marketing experience because these companies offer ongoing training and support. Before starting any new business, be sure to do your research by checking with the Better Business Bureau (http://www.bbb.org). You can also visit the Direct Selling Association (http://www.dsa.org) which will help you evaluate a company.

In addition to the training you will receive from the company you choose, you must realize you are an Independent Business Owner and your success and earnings are based solely on your efforts. You must have a desire to build a profitable business. Here are 7 tips to help you see results in your network marketing business.

1. Be a Product of Your Product – As women, we rarely have a hard time telling a girlfriend about a new restaurant we’ve tried, a new shoe store we’ve discovered and how much we enjoyed a particular movie. When you have firsthand experience with your products or service, it makes it that much easier for you to share honestly, the benefits with others. You will be better able to explain how it works, how to use it and what results can be expected. This helps assure your customers you are knowledgeable and displays professionalism.
2. Treat Your Business Like a Business – Most people fail in their network marketing business because quite frankly, they don’t treat it like a business. Do not mistake the idea of being your own boss as being able to establish a lucrative income from home working only one day a week. Your business is NOT a hobby and you need to commit to building it in order for it to grow. It takes a great amount of time and dedication early on to reach a sustainable and consistent profit.
3. Take Advantage of Training and Education – If your company offers training meetings, seminars, conferences, etc., it is in your best interest to attend. These are designed to help you learn more product knowledge, marketing skills and sales techniques that allow you to better serve your customers and run your business.
4. Learn to Set Goals – In order to be successful and achieve the things you want, you have to plan your success. Take time each week and month to write down your sales goals, team building goals, etc. and create your plan to make it happen. If you want to see results, you have to know what action steps you need to reach it.
5. Create a Working List – This is a very vital part of growing your business. In network marketing, you start with a list of people you know. As time goes on, that list should grow from referrals and new people you meet. Network marketing is a people business so if you don’t want to fail, you must have a list to work from and be willing to contact a minimum of 5 people a day about your business.
6. Growing Your Team – Most network marketing companies offer you extra bonus commissions when you bring other people in to the business. To earn a continuously growing commission early on, establishing a team to leverage your time will give you just that, while providing you extra income. Be open to utilizing every aspect of your companies pay structure to make the most amount of money.
7. Follow Up is a MUST – In this industry, following up is imperative in every area of your business. If you hold a presentation and everyone doesn’t buy that night, you follow up for a sale later. When you interview someone about partnering with you in the business and you don’t get an immediate yes, you follow up until you get a definite – NO. When talking to women, I find that many don’t want to seem annoying or as if they are bothering anyone. Being in network marketing for nearly 10 years, I find that people appreciate the follow up because 9 times out of 10, they are interested but for some personal reason, they don’t have the means at THAT time. This is YOUR BUSINESS…you stop following up when they say NO, I’m NOT interested.

Following these 7 tips combined with patience, consistency and determination will give you the freedom and flexibility to be the proud owner of a profitable home based business!

Would you like to learn more about my business and how you can partner with me? Click Here for more information.

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Tamyka Washington|TheCEOMamma

Social Media & Network Marketing

www.theceomamma.com

If you are selling anything on your site, chances are you accept credit cards.  With credit card fraud and identity theft abound, how do you protect your e-commerce business and still offer your customers the convenience of purchasing with credit?

Your responsibilities as a merchant are governed by the laws and regulations in your state, federal laws and regulations, and the specific requirements of the particular card entity (i.e. American Express, Discover, etc.).   Many of the major cards have also come together to create the PCI Standards Council.  They’ve created a series of requirements that merchants must adhere to when agreeing to accept credit cards.

So, why does all of this matter, you ask?  You’re only running a small online store.  Well, when you agree to accept credit cards, you enter into an agreement with the major cards.  As such, you agree to comply with all of these requirements.

Plus, dealing with fraud, chargebacks (amounts charged back to the credit card) and other breach hassles can be both costly (think thousands of dollars) and time consuming.

As you’re setting up your online venture, here are a few steps you can take to better protect your site and ultimately your business.

Use a Third-Party Gateway

Payment gateways are a bridge between your site and the actual payment processing that takes place.  That means that you don’t have to personally handle anyone’s credit card information.  If I purchase from your site and you use a payment gateway, I enter my information and you never see it.  The card is authorized via the payment gateway.  From a data breach perspective, that’s really important.  You don’t have to store anyone’s sensitive cardholder information which could help protect you from some liability.

Select a Reputable  Merchant Account Provider

A merchant account provider is a company that processes your card transactions and deposits the funds from the cards into your business bank account.  Beware.  Not all merchant account providers are created equal.  Some have seemingly excessive fees.  Others try to bind you to a contract term of 36 or more months.  Read the fine print of the agreements carefully, and once you’ve narrowed down your choices, sit down with your attorney to make sure you fully understand the terms of your particular contract.  The terms are legally binding, so you don’t want to enter into the agreement until it is clear to you.

Set the Strictest Possible Verification Measures

Some payment gateways give the merchant a little leeway to determine what information will be required to process the transaction.  For instance, will the cardholder be required to give the three-digit code on the back of the card?  What if the address for the cardholder does not match the billing address the online customer provides?  Will you refuse to process the purchase?  These are all decisions that you will have to make as a merchant.  The more steps you require, the greater protection you provide yourself and the cardholder.  Stricter controls may seem cumbersome, but it pays off with fewer chargebacks  and identity theft claims.

Make Sure Your Site Has a Security Certificate

Most merchant account providers and payment gateway providers require the site holder to have certain security certificates in place that encrypt data that flows over the internet.  This certificate can usually be purchased from the same company that hosts your site.  For example hosting companies like GoDaddy and Blue Host offer security certificates.  Even if your provider does not require it, it is a good idea to take the extra step to add a security certificate to your site, particularly the store portion of your site.

Verify that Your Business Insurance Covers Online Transactions

Some insurers deem online behavior to risky and specifically exclude it from coverage.  When you’re deciding on a policy to cover your business activities, read the exclusions carefully to verify that your online transactions will be covered under your existing insurance policy.  Having to address fraud claims and other possible security breaches without insurance can endanger your business and definitely lessen its profitability.

Limit Access to Sensitive Information

If for some reason you do maintain certain cardholder information, limit access to only those individuals that absolutely need to know this highly private information.  Set measures that can track when and how those individuals access this private information.

Carefully Review the Data Security Standards and All Individual Card Requirements

The PCI Standards Council issues the Data Security Standards to which every merchant must adhere.  Review them carefully.  Ask questions.  Consult with an IT person to ensure that your systems meet the requirements.

Finally, as with all agreements you enter into as a business owner, invest in a consultation with a licensed attorney in your area.  The peace of mind that comes from knowing that you’ve covered your bases will be invaluable and better equip you in the unfortunate event that you do have to defend against claims of security breach.

For additional information, visit the PCI Standards Council site.

Here’s to your business success!

IBOToolBox is a FREE Business Marketing Platform that's simply a state of the art web application that consists of an entire suite of tools to help you market your business.  Did I mention that's is absolutely FREE?

MORE IMPORTANT:  IBOToolBox is a "SAFEHAVEN" to build your business!

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Hello BBWO!

This July BBWO is 4 years young! I wanted to do something special, so I decided to turn the July issue of SistaSense Magazine into an BBWO anniversary issue.

This issue includes the BBWO50 Fabulous Women Entrepreneurs plus featured mompreneurs to know, crafty sistas, web designers and more. Who knows, maybe you got featured too!

Go to http://mag.sistasense.com to download or order the SistaSense Magazine. I will be posting the 2011 BBWO50 List in our discussion forum soon.

Also remember there are less than 37 virtual seats left for the SistaSense Power Circle TeleSummit. And only a few more codes PWR15, which allow you to register for $30 for this event.

I am so excited to share BBWO with you. I hope it has enriched your life as much as it has mine.

If you want to share your feelings about BBWO, please do so here. I plan on featuring member articles and businesses in the August Issue of SistaSense Magazine, so look out for that as well!

Till then continue to live the BBWO motto:
Motivate.Inform.Inspire.Connect

LaShanda Henry
The SistaSense Power Circle 2 Day TeleSummit
http://power.sistasense.com


p.s. Do you have a friend you think should join BBWO? Tell them to use code BBWO15 to signup and get a special discount AND gift.

The middle class is about to be null and void. How did this happen? Everyone is willing to point fingers but know one knows for sure what really happened. This article explains some of what is happening. I am part of the poor working middle class and I don’t even work. Sad to say but I just can’t work a low paying job and pay for daycare for two small kids. That is what my world and others have to face the decision to either give up your check or stay home and make nothing. There is no grey area it’s either one or the other. I think people are working even harder and not making enough to survive. Middle class people usually make between 35,000 to 50,000 a yr and sometimes that's with both married couples. So let me break down this middle class thing. You make, lets say 40,000 a yr but do you really make that not really after taxes, insurance, 401k, and anything else that comes out of your check is taken out you only really bring home 38,000 a yr. Now lets break that down into monthly you should be at around 3100 a month. Now lets look at bills you have a mortgage or rent for 900 dollars that leaves 2200 for bills. That sounds good right, lets add the bills this will include just the house bills (light, water, cable, phone, etc) lets put that at about 400. That will leave 1800 now lets add in a car, insurance, cell phone, and gas that's about 600. That leaves about 1200 which is really good but wait food, child care, and clothes will take up the rest of that fairly quickly. No money really left to go into savings unless you don’t buy clothes. If there is no money left then the middle class has gone to the working poor class because many people make this a year and work their butts off doing it and they can’t even open up a savings account. Yes I think the middle class is shrinking and if this economy does not get it’s act together then the middle class will be almost non existent

http://biztalkwithk.com/2011/05/09/the-middle-class-is-shrinking/

I’m slowing getting back into my daily grind after spending a few days in the beautiful LA area. I had a wonderful time on the west coast (first time ever, but won’t be my last) for the 4th Blogging While Brown Conference and the first ever live Black Weblog Awards. I wish I could have stayed a little longer because I didn’t want my amazing vacation to end. Even though my good time has come and gone, the memories and friendships made will last forever. I wanted to do my wrap up a little different this year, mainly because I didn’t take a lot of personal pictures. More about that later. As I was waiting for my return flight home, I started to implement a few tips I learned when I got the idea of this post.

Photo Credit: Skylar Hensley (http://SkyyLyfe.com)

9 Lessons I learn from attending Blogging While Brown 2011

#9- Network, Network, & Network some more
Before I left, I set out to make sure that I reconnected with a couple of people as well as meet my fellow tweeps I’ve been chatting it up with online. You can plan all you want but you just has to go with the flow. Last year I came back with tons of business cards. This year I only came back with 5 and I remember my conversations with each and everyone of them. I think that’s more valuable. Next steps are reach out to them again to keep that bond. A lot of the networking is done out side of the panels, which as a shy person like myself is hard to do but the more events I attend the better I am becoming with breaking out of my shell.

#8- Stop hoarding your G.I.F.T.S and share them with the world

During one of the break I stumbled upon a group of attendees having an unconference and they were sharing their gifts. You could see the passion in everyone who was sharing their stories. My GIFT is being a nerd because I love (besides the candy) technology, coding HTML//CSS, anything that others may consider “uncool” – that’s me. Other GIFTS that were shared was the ability to make connections and empowering others through technology. Shout out to actress and comedian Kim Coles for allowing us to be part of her G.I.F.T.S: Gratitude – Intentions – Forgiveness – Triumphs -Self-Love.

Read all of the lessons learned...

For Spiritually Empowered Female Entrepreneurs!

Hi there!  We kick off the real meat of theTraining for your effective Social and Online marketing at 1 PM PST today...

If you haven't grabbed your spot into our More Prospects, Clients and Profits Biz Rockin' Boot Camp

Grab it now...doors are closing real soon!

http://www.moreprospectsclientsprofits.com

This is what one of the participants stated about the pre-program lessons that you'll still get access to as a bonus

"I worked through my Facebook assignment today and sent out numerous friend request. I must say that the exercise helped me to break through a lot of barriers that were in place that I was not even aware existed."

http://www.moreprospectsclientsprofits.com

This is not just a training program for your business!

They said no to overwhelm and yes to personal, spiritual and professional empowerment. Yes to Freedom to build their businesses with effective Social Media and Online marketing. Yes to More Prospects, Clients and Profits! The meat of the More Prospects, Clients and Profits kicks off today. What will you be doing over the next 4 weeks for your empowering success? You'll also experience the Spiritual Fitness Module.

I can't wait to see the manifestations that will happen in the lives of these dynamic women.

There are a few hours and a few spots left for The More Prospects, Clients and Profits Biz Rockin' Online Boot Camp.

Go to http://www.moreprospectsclientsprofits.com to secure your place and change the course of your life and business forever!

Don't let anyone tell you that you don't need it. You make the decision. What do you want for your life? Your Family? Are you satisfied with where you are? Will you realize your desired results with what you're doing at this present time?

This isn't for everyone, however, it is for someone.

I hope to welcome you!

Empowering you,

Robin

P.S. If you have questions email info@RobinTramble.com and we will get right back with you.

Amanda Hollowell the founder of JL Events, LLC tells her story.
I was asked to do a small piece about my wedding planning business in Savannah, GA. The who, what, when, where and why. Check it out!

Are you a small business that may be seeking an alternative revenue stream given the current economic conditions? Government contracting could be an option that you may want to further explore as a market for your small business. However, in order to determine if this is a viable option for your small business, here are the “Top 10” things you want to consider...View our article in the Charlotte League of Business Magazine, pages 26-27.

http://issuu.com/clob/docs/clbmagazinejuly2011?mode=embed&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Fsoftdark%2Flayout.xml&proShowSidebar=true

I don't know about you, but I like to think of summertime as the prime season for RELAXING--kicking back, enjoying the warm sun, balmy breezes and fun events with family and friends. Swimming, concerts, good music, food--just good times all around. And I don't want stress anywhere in there!

So why is it that we're still so stressed out and don't know how to unplug?

If you have that issue, I'm excited to tell you that you're in luck! Because next Thursday, 7/21 at 7pm EST, I'm delighted to have professional organizer Ellen Delap back for a great, encore presentation on our "Call & Learn" teleclass, "Summertime Unplugging & De-Stressing!"

She's going to be breaking down all types of great ways to slow down and actually ENJOY the warm weather while it's still here! So, I hope to see you on the call--to register (and get a free copy of "Accountability Partners for Internet Marketers," just go to http://successtales.com/7-21-registration/ and sign right up! See ya there!

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About the Blogger:

Vonetta Booker-Brown is the creator of SuccessTales.com, a resource/membership site for savvy female small business owners--and the author of the e-book Success Tales: Female Entrepreneurs' Stories of Challenges, Inspiration & Success--featuring BBWO's own LaShanda Henry!

Do you want to feel silky, smooth & refreshed? Try Silk Body Creme. silkbodycreme.blogspot.com/  .