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!

---------------------------------------------------

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/  .

We’ve discussed ways to ensure that you, blogger extraordinaire, can enjoy all those blogger perks and freebies without running afoul of the law at Keeping Your Product Reviews Legal.  But, let’s say I’ve  launched my web venture, and I have a product I’m bringing to market.  It’s a fabulous product, and I’ve got testimonials lined up that I want to use to boost my product’s credibility.

In order to obtain those testimonials, let’s say I wooed a few key bloggers in my product niche, and they gladly obliged in return for some free products.

So, I post a few of those testimonials on my site, and the bloggers kindly provide a few product review posts for their followers/readers.

I sit back and wait for the calls and orders to roll in.

Oh, but wait!  Not so fast.  There’s more for me to do.

According to the FTC’s “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising,” those bloggers have some duties, and I as the product advertiser have some things I must do as well to comply with the applicable laws.

Advise my endorsers about disclosure.

Every endorser of my product must tell their readers about their connection with my business or product.  If I provide them with freebies or pay them for their review, they must say so, and I must inform them in some way that they have that responsibility.   

Monitor what my endorsers say and post.

I’m responsible for what my endorsers say about my products and services.  Let’s say I have a fabulous skin cream, and it has astounding moisturizing properties.  My endorser goes so far as to say that this cream of mine cures some previously incurable skin ailment.  It doesn’t, but they post their review.  We’re both potentially subject to liability for these misleading and unsubstantiated representations.

Create some endorsement guidelines.

The easiest way for me to obey the law is to carefully monitor my endorsers.  I should create some guidelines to protect my brand.  Beyond being the legal thing to do, it’s just smart to always know what people are saying about my product or service.

The FTC doesn’t specifically require the following, but in an abundance of caution I could,

–Require all endorsers sign an agreement regarding endorsements

–Require all endorsers to send their review to me for approval first

–Require all endorsers to notify me if their views change or they make changes to the content of their reviews or testimonials

Of course, these extra steps may be a bit cumbersome, but at the end of the day it’s my responsibility as the brand owner to ensure that those who love my product and are willing to speak well of it do so in a manner that is legal.

Here’s to your business success!

IAMDAILY ADVERTISING! www.iamdaily.com

The Authors Campaign is a 2 month promotion created by From A Writer’s POV to help promote authors. The campaign is looking to spotlight 3-5 authors for two months on our magazine, newsletter, blogs, sister sites and The POV Lounge. Depending on the genre of your writing, we are opening other spaces on our magazine to spotlight you. The cost of this event is only $35 for a two month campaign of exposure.

The itinerary is as follows:

The Month of September:

· Blog spotlight on one Monday in September surrounding you, your website, social networks, events and your blogs.

· One month spotlight on our magazine with a short article about you, your website, your blogs and social networks involved in or operated by you.

·Free newsletter ad once a week in our newsletter

· Advertisement on twitter, facebook and other social networks.

· One Blogtalk Radio Interview with one of our sponsors

The Month of October:

· Blog spotlight on one Monday in October on The POV Lounge surrounding you, your website, events, social networks, blogs, your book and anything you are involved in.

· One month spotlight on our magazine with a short article about you and everything you’re involved in.

· Free newsletter ad once a week in our newsletter

· Advertisement on twitter, facebook and other social networks.

· One Blogtalk Radio Interview with one of our sponsors

An itinerary will be written up so that you will know exactly what days you will be spotlighted on the POV Lounge and other places on our magazine. Your spotlight on the magazine will be all month.

Guidelines:

·Must be a published author of at least one book (Book must be available for purchase)

· Obtain a website, blog and be a part of social networks

· Must make payment by July 29, 2011 and have sent all asked information in documents sent to you.

If you are interested in signing up, please email us at: inquiries@fromawriterspovmagazine.com and fill out the info below by copying and pasting it into an email.

(The information we need from you is between the two red lines)

Subject: FAC Submission

----------------------------

Your Information

First and Last Name (Author Name):

Contact Email:

Phone Number (Optional)

Your Bio-Professional, written in third person: (Copy and paste here)

How many books have you published?

List your latest book here with publishing date and synopsis:

Genre of your writing

Questionnaire (Yes or No):

Do you have a website?

Do you have a blog?

Do you have a social network or a part of a social network?

Are you a published author of at least one book?

Are you a Poet?

Are you an inspirational writer?

Will you be able to attend a Blogtalk Radio Show for an individual interview?

Instructions:

Please attach a picture of yourself to this email (Professional headshot only)

Please attach a picture of your latest book to this email

-------------------------

If at that time we feel you are a good fit for our campaign, another email will be sent to you asking for payment and an Authors Info document will be sent. This form will need to be filled out and sent to us along with payment by July 29^th, 2011.

We WILL NOT accept any submissions after this date. This is on a first come, first serve bases.

Thanks,

From A Writer’s POV

Point of Contact for this event:

Dominique L. Watson

This is so tragic!!! Failing! I can't stand that word actually. It is so negative! And it's sad that failing is a reality for some business owners. Briefly, I will share with you the 5 reasons why most people fail :( in their first 30 days! Forget about the first year! Some people don't even make it that long!

1. Lack of training: Some people you decide to do business with might tell you something like: they provide free training, you're in business for yourself but not by yourself, call in every day at this time for an automated training message, etc etc. They tell you how simple it is to build a business and get you all revved up to jump in and start making truckloads of money and then you never hear from them again! Unfortunately, this happens all too often and new business owners are left to figure things out on their own. It is very important that you find a mentor to partner up with and help you along as you build your business.

2. Lack of focus: Let's be real here, you were just going along with your life and then all of a sudden you decided to start a business! Great decision, but the problem is that your life continues and you never adjust it to fit in your business! It takes TIME and dedication to build a successful business.

3. Lack of strategy: Can we say, BUSINESS PLAN? How many of you have ever enrolled in school WITHOUT a plan or blueprint of your 4 years at the institution! NO ONE HAS! You HAVE to have to plan for the things you want to succeed in. 

4. Unwillingness to get down and dirty: If you are NOT uncomfortable within the first 18 months (at maximum) of your business, then you're doing something WRONG! It's ok for you to be uncomfortable calling or following up with people. Its ok to be uncomfortable telling someone about what you do and maybe asking them to join you. It's ok to be uncomfortable going to training sessions by yourself. It's ok to be UNCOMFORTABLE! Because believe it or not, eventually you WON'T be uncomfortable. And it will be apart of your routine. YOU HAVE TO BE CONSISTENT!

5. No desire or passion: This is a huge one! I always tell people they have enjoy the business they're in! Why would you have a traveling business but hate to travel? You have to be passionate about what you do! When you have passion for your business you will have a desire to succeed! And eventually all of these 5 reasons, although obstacles, will be triumphs!

The thing that seperates SUCCESSFUL business owners from the FAILED ones is that they keep trying. Whats the old saying? "IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED, TRY, TRY AGAIN!" There are even 2 trys in there! So you've got to stay motivated, stay prayerful, and stay positive when going through the excitements and woes of starting a business.

Updated 7/10/11

If this is your fear, I can help you. Contact me today! Tamara@garrisonprosperitysolutions.com

Website:
 http://www.garrisonprosperitysolutions.com/

Follow me on twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/tamarargarrison

 Click here for FREE info on how to build a business on a budget:
http://tamaragarrison.buildingonabudget.com

I'm on this never-ending quest to simplify my life as much as possible--so hooking up the Facebook/Twitter connection brought me one step closer to that goal.

To do this, just visit http://apps.facebook.com/twitter/ , log in if needed, and click on your profile and any other Pages you have when it asks you to allow Twitter to post updates to them.  Easy-breezy!  

Now, if there was only an app to allow Facebook to do my laundry... (app-masters, get on that stat!)

---------------------------------------------------

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!

Early this morning I was watching TV One’s “Living With Soul,” which featured the home of author and OperationHope.org founder John Bryant and his wife Sheila.  Their Los Angeles home is a beautiful, contemporary showcase of art by Zimbabwe’s Shona tribe–but I was even more impressed by what he does outside the home.

Homeless for six months when he was 18, Bryant refused to mentally accept his predicament, noting the difference between broke (an economic condition), and poor (a state of mind that can keep one locked into that position).  He gradually climbed out of his situation, to become the founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE, America’s first non-profit social investment banking organization–now operating in 68 U.S. communities and South Africa, having raised more than $500 million from the private sector to empower the poor.

One of their best resources is the free Emergency Financial Aid Kit, created to help families and individuals in maintaining financial stability in the event of an emergency.  It helps you identify and organize key financial records, providing a quick reference file for your important financial documents.  Why do I think this is just TheBomb.com?  Simply because money is a BIG issue, especially for small business owners who may or may not have a steady income and are figuring out how to budget everything.  And if you have a family, the pressure is compounded.  With many one-income families, the stay-at-home spouse may not know all the details about the household financials–which can be disastrous in a crisis situation.

Check it out, it’s a great resource.

---------------------------------------------------

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!

I love this tidbit of wisdom that one of my good friends shared with me (which was passed on, in turn, from a friend of hers.)  I found it invaluable when it comes to the ups and downs of starting and running a business–and I’ve quickly gotten into the habit of doing the following:

Basically, instead of focusing on the negatives in your life and business (i.e., not enough leads or clients as you’d like, a mailing list that isn’t quite the size you want just yet, etc.)–think of all the POSITIVES that abound around you.  For example–your health, for starters.  The mental capacity that God gave you to even juggle all those things on your to-do list, lol.  You may not have reached your total goal yet–but look back at how far you’ve come!  I like to keep what I call my Gratitude Journal–just jotting down whatever comes to mind in terms of things I’m grateful for, no matter how small.  Trust me–they add up!  And it really helps to boost my spirits when I’m feeling funky and self-pitying.

So, overall, there are three steps to take at the beginning of each day, in order to get yourself moving:

1. Think of all the things you’re thankful for, including the victories that haven’t yet materialized (because you know they eventually will!)
2. Visualize your reached goals (more clients, better business visibility, more balance, etc.–fill in the blanks!)
3. Focus on accomplishing at least one thing today that will propel you towards that goal–a phone call, an email, attending a networking event, even revising a press release, web page or product.

I firmly believe that if you consistently stay with this mindset, you will eventually see results–often sooner than later.  Know why?  Because you simply get back what you give out into the Universe–including positive, productive energy.

So, keep your head up and get going.  It’s gonna be a great day!

---------------------------------------------------

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!

Can I be real with you for a sec?  Sometimes, I feel like a machine, with all of the stuff on my to-do list.  Trust me--I'm not trying to complain, but I just have to put it out there for a minute.  Make new business cards.  Write a couple of new blog entries.  Transcribe podcast recordings.  Tweak my Wordpress pages.  Create a new banner.  Research new markets...and that's just to name a few, lol.  We're not even talking about the things that need to be done re. my existing clients!  (And I know what you're thinking--"why not delegate?"  Oh, that would be so wonderful--in due time!  Right now, when the budget is still small, I've gotta utilize my one-woman know-how as much as possible!)

Sometimes, when I look at my hefty to-do list, yes--I sometimes feel overwhelmed in a "How the heck am I ever going to get this done?" kind of way!  But then I realize that I have to look at things in a different light.  Promoting the spirit of entrepreneurship is still what I love to do; it's my passion.  So, why not make it fun?  I'm going to strive to see my tasks not as doldrum work--but as learning experiences along the small business journey.  I know a lot, but I'm still learning a lot--hell, aren't we all?  And this is a great way to learn as I go.

And one last thing that I need to remind myself of & am getting better at: Learn to turn it off already! That can be a challenge when you work from home & everything's in one place--but seriously.  Turn the laptop off, go play with your kids (who are probably clamoring for your attention anyway), read a book--whatever you do to relax.  There's something about being on a laptop all day that fries your brain, isn't it?  Don't forget to replenish those cells!

---------------------------------------------------

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!

Keeping Your Product Reviews Legal

Originally posted at ibusinesslegal.com

We’ve all heard the stories.  They’re almost like folklore now, but we’ve heard of bloggers amassing copious amounts of swag from brands eager for them to share their positive endorsements and testimonials with their legions of loyal and impressionable followers.   Trips, household furnishing, toys, and more!  Those were the days.

Today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)–a federal body that protects against scams, frauds and other malicious behavior–has a little something to say about all those blogger perks.   These guidelines aren’t super-new.  They were released in late 2009, but I just performed a little web review of some of my favorite blogs, sites and the Twitter feeds of some of my favorites, and you would be surprised at how many offer no explanation or statement regarding their product reviews and testimonials.

To help understand The FTC regulations, they’ve issued the “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”  This Guide is designed to help better understand what the FTC expects from every advertiser and endorser.

There are steps every smart product reviewer can take to keep from running afoul of the law.

In a nutshell, endorsements and testimonials for compensation of any kind should be communicated to your readers.

Who’s an Endorser? Do you offer your opinions, beliefs and findings about a particular product and you’re not the advertiser?  You could be considered an endorser.  If you review products that you receive from free from a company, it’s safe to say you’re an endorser.

For purposes of these regulations, those who provide endorsements are treated the same as those who provide testimonials.  It should be assumed that when the guidance discusses endorsements that it is also covering testimonials.

Just so we’re clear…

No pay, no freebies = No endorsement

If I happen to try a new cereal, and I share on my blog how much I love, love, love this new cereal that is a perfect blend of everything I love about Lucky Charms and Chex Mix, and no one sent me free boxes of this lovely cereal nor offered me any other freebies (coupons included) for my views, it is not an endorsement.

No endorsement = No disclosures

If I am not endorsing a product or providing a testimonial, then I have nothing that I need to disclose to my readers.

Compensation (freebies, discounts, pay) = Disclosure

When there is a material connection between an endorser and an advertiser that might materially affect the weight of the endorsement, both sides must fully disclose that connection.

Let’s say Company X offers me a lifetime supply of my favorite cleaning product and asks me to conduct a product review and post it on my blog.  Even if I’ve used this product my entire life, I must disclose that I received a lifetime supply of said product in connection with this product review.

Why?  No one likes to be deceived.  The fact that I’ve saved thousands of dollars on cleaning products (even if I would have provided a glowing review for free anyway) should be shared in the interest of adhering to the law and being a reputable product reviewer and blogger.

Keep Disclosures Straightforward.

Disclosure language doesn’t have to be lengthy and complex.  Just be honest with your readers and share with them what benefits you gleaned as a result of your review.

For instance, if I received a lifetime supply of cleaning products, I would merely offer the following disclosure at the top of my review:

“My review of this product is based on my experience as a lifetime user of product X.  However, X Company graciously provided me with free product as compensation for my review of said product.”   Sweet, simple and legally sound.

Next, we’ll address what to do to ensure that those testimonials you receive about your product and service are legal.

Here’s to your business success!

Shannon Harmon is an IL licensed attorney specializing in business law and an award winning entrepreneur and editor and lead content creator for iBusinessLegal.com a growing go-to resource for legal information geared towards empowering web-based entrepreneurs. 

Ck out Very Sexy Now & other fragrances at www.silkbodycreme.com