Carol's comments

Suggestion: Hire a professional namer (like me! It's my sideline) to create a name for you. Even if you have copywriting skills, it's hard to have objectivity about something that is so close to the heart.

This is the truth! As a former (and sometimes, still) direct response copywriter, this sings to me. A website isn't a singles bar; it needs to have more than a pretty face and a come-on line if it's meaningful relationships you're after.

Oh gosh, Erin, I feel for you. My first web designer and I were not a good match at all and I knew it (he was an "artiste"), but I was "invested." After awhile he actually fired me as a client, which was good - I was able to hire someone wonderful (Dawud Miracle of Healthy Web Design) and get the kind of website I wanted in the first place.

I joined because I was invited, but I stayed because of the warm welcomes, the valuable articles, the user-friendliness of the site. Biznik is networking at its best, as opposed to many social networking sites that are about as effective as dropping off your business cards on a table filled with others' business cards.

I hope Biznik catches on in my neck of the Redwoods; the Seattle events sound wonderful.

Yes! "Go to," not "run from."

carolskolnick is my Twitter name. I'd love to hear from our members some ideas about how to leverage Twitter and why it's valuable.

Overwhelm happens, and in my experience it's a symptom of believing something under the surface, such as "I should be able to get more done" or "I'm a failure." These thoughts deserve our attention; they are begging to be met with some understanding. I love your approach of self-compassion and inner embrace.

Yeppers!

I've had to give up...

1. my preconceived notion of what "success" looks like.
2. the idea of working for myself = "My time is my own." It's not.
3. "safety" and "security." And, by the way, it's been worth it.

Of course!

You raise many important and beneficial points, Jennifer. I believe that "right livelihood" is the work we are doing already; it's the perfect career, which doesn't mean it won't change entirely! On the contrary; when we are engaged with and at peace with our work, we are also more creative, and more open to whatever comes our way.

Amazing event; I'm enjoying the downloads as well as reading the feedback on Oprah's site.

I'd add, as a mentor, not to imagine you know it all. In my experience, we teach what we need to learn. The "mentee" is a mirror to the self, and a mentor as well; it's an incredibly powerful and humbling relationship.

And...comment on each other's Biznik articles. :)

Excellent!

9-11 was a wake-up call for all of us in so many ways; I think everyone with their own business felt the repercussions. Everyone I know survived it...not always in the way we thought we ought to have. Some, like me, found a new direction. Starting out with nothing makes room for new vision. Great araticle.

"When you fight with reality, you lose...but only 100% of the time." —Byron Katie

Thank you for

1. you in the world and
2. never offering pat formulas.

LOL to LAQ! I call those kinds of quotes, "It's nice, I like it." Argh!!!!

I have more than 160 posts at my blog http://soulsurgery.blogspot.com yet my website gets more traffic, even though it's pretty static. I'm not sure there's anything scientific to this; I'm guessing that

1. not everyone in my target market has the time or inclination to read blogs, and
2. the website is for people looking for information about the work I do; the blog appeals to "fans" and current clients.

This is great news for me, Jack, as I believe I don't even have a left brain! :) Anyway, this right-brainer is happy to lend a hand in bending those tired old paradigms.

Someone said to me the other day that the time to stop doing something is while it still feels comfortable to keep on doing it. We can't afford to wait for a crisis.

Thanks for a great article, and for visiting my most recent one!

This rocks. Practical and reassuring - thanks, Molly.

I'd like to recommend three very practical, self-published books:

The Way of the Accidental Entrepreneur: The Practical Path to Building a Business that Fits "Just Right" - by biznik member Molly Gordon of Washington State.

Unveiling the Heart of Your Business by biznik member Mark Silver of Oregon.

And, um, my eBook :-), Transformational Inquiry: Working on Your Work, available at Clear Life Solutions

When I was a copywriter, I had a boss who encouraged us to get out of the office and take a walk; you never know what you might see. That, plus some fresh air, is always good for sparking creativity.

Shaking things up is also good. Try doing something out of the routine.

I love the exercises in Natalie Goldberg's "Writing Down the Bones" as creativity stimulants. She predates Julia Cameron and informs her work, I think. You don't have to be a writer either!

Great tips, Elge!