Hi, Which Pepino's?

sure, $2 sounds good. maybe the title should be different now too =)

Wait, so does that mean it's not happening?

I was a "maybe", but there isn't an RSVP for that I don't think.

I think all of what you say is important, but I also think loving your logo is important to someone. For a solo-preneur, someone who pours their heart and soul into their business - seeing something every day that they don't really love, but is the very symbol of their business - I would think it could really drive someone crazy and drain a lot of energy. OR it could be really inspiring and create a lot of energy. It depends on how visually focused someone is. I think if it's a really good logo, and really speaks what your business is in a appealing way, then you would love it. And if you don't love it - there's probably a good reason worth looking into. Maybe it doesn't really speak what it needs to speak.

I have a question - are people deducting these donations as a business expense? My understanding is that only C corporations can deduct charitable contributions - but I'm wondering if you make it part of your marketing (i.e. we donate 3% of our profits to these charities..), then would it be deductible as a marketing expense? Otherwise, if you are an LLC like most of here probably are, you can only deduct it on your personal tax return and then only if you itemize deductions.

Heya,

What is the topic going to be this time around?

Emma

Aja, I think that comes across - personal with business thrown in. I think maybe what people were encouraging was to look at why you would make a page that just throws business in, if you have an overall goal to get more business. And if you don't, then why put the business stuff on there at all?

Other than that, it looks very stylish and cool. =)

I guess if it were me, I'd do something like this: move the 'Services' and 'Design Samples' to a dedicated business site, and then link to it from this site - so people could go there and get the full business treatment. Then this would stay as your personal status page since it is excellent for that.

Although, it also depends on how you get new business. If you mostly get it through personal connections, then SEO and making it get-in-7-seconds doesn't matter b/c people will already have met you when they see it. However...that would be limiting potential new customers greatly since it wouldn't be taking advantage of online marketing.

@Amy IMHO green/brown "recycled paper" look targets a specific green market, i.e. the older/"hippy" green market.

If you are going for more urban/hip/young/professional, you might want to go with green and blue or something more modern.

Hi Jessie,

I liked your article on your site about using glass bottles because they are a lot more efficient to recycle. I never considered that but it makes sense.

I run a web hosting company called Acorn Host at www.acornhost.com - we buy renewable energy certificates to cover our energy usage (it pays for wind and solar energy to be put into the grid on our behalf).

I encourage people to buy them b/c it's a really easy way to make any business green-friendly. You can buy them here: http://www.3degreesinc.com/knowledge/rec/

Emma

Hmm. I think it's in the attitude more than the planning. I love networking; I hardly ever plan for it.

I don't really think of it as "networking". I think of it as "meeting cool people and having interesting conversations". That is, I'm there to be there. Not for what it will get me. And what have I gotten? Friends! Genuine connection and community. Clients, customers, sure. But that's not why I do it. I do it because I enjoy being around these people.

I've run across people who were clearly prepared, clearly had a goal of "networking", but they weren't really there. They were thinking of their goal, not about just being a human, chatting with other humans, seeing what we are all up to and supporting each other.

I'd much rather have a conversation with someone who just wants to have a conversation with me than someone who has scoped me out and prepared themselves for it, or waiting for the right time to tell me their prepared story. It's like over-preparing for a date. Better to just go and be yourself. IMHO. If planning is part of who you are, then sure, do it. If it's not - maybe try just going and enjoying yourself?

I had that same question, how did you get this published as an article?

But regardless, I'm glad you did. Super helpful.

Bal, perhaps you are missing the general failure of people to control the creative re-mixing urge through lawmaking? Hmm...what else have we failed to control through lawmaking, let me see...

Anyway for folks who want to try a less draconian form of copyright, check out: http://creativecommons.org/

StrengthsFinder 2.0. It's a book that comes with a test that tells you your top 5 strengths. It has changed the way I think about myself. The message is "don't try to overcome your weaknesses - it's wasted energy. instead, focus on your strengths because that is where you will achieve excellence".

These aren't really business related, but life related:

My favorite book is "How to Be An Adult" by David Richo. Seriously helpful condensed guide to all the issues you encounter in therapy. Well, not a substitute for therapy. But still very helpful.

The Artist's Way was helpful in reframing how I think of creativity.

I liked the article a lot, but I didn't think I would based on the title. I love attraction-based marketing, so I was thinking you were going to disparage it! But also perhaps I think of it a little differently than you are characterizing it.

When I think of Attraction-based marketing, I am thinking of the book "Attracting Perfect Customers". The idea I loved in that book is that you want to act like a lighthouse - you stay in one spot and shine. A lighthouse doesn't run up and down the shore trying to get people to look at it.

So to me, being attractive is about knowing who you are and being clear in that - and that is what creates attraction - and what creates safety. It's not about "trying to be attractive" - it's about being who you truly are, and helping people connect to that. And I think that's what you are getting at here - that our human egos need help feeling safe to connect. I agree with that.

I think the Law of Attraction is helpful in some ways but easily misinterpreted. To me it says "What you truly believe is what you will get". That doesn't mean "Don't take real-world action", it means that if you have counter-intention running in your subconscious, then your real-world action will not work, because you'll be sabotaging yourself somehow - coming across as vague, or uncertain of yourself, etc. So to me it's about really understanding that you are valuable already, as you are, that you have gifts to share, and being confident in those, and then that will come through in whatever you do to market. But of course you still need to market!

Anyway, I guess I still don't like the title, because it doesn't match the article. You aren't saying it's a mistake, you are saying it has a context, which I agree with. I notice I feel a sense of being a little tricked that you used that title just to get me to click on the article. =)

Another very simple change would be to add a "Maybe" option when you RSVP. YES...No...Maybe, instead of just Yes/No.

Well, I don't think it's quite that simple. Signing up for an event on a social networking site just isn't seen with as much gravity as making a one-on-one appointment. Perhaps it is by some people...the ones complaining in this thread for instance...but that won't change what other people do. And saying it "should" be a certain way is trying to impose one person's standards on another. It's not going to change anyone. It just increases the general level of guilt and stress for people who don't share those standards. Like me. =)

I'd suggest getting OK with people not always showing up...get a feel for the percentages...and take that into consideration when you plan things. It's a reality of life, and people will feel more welcomed by you if they don't think they'll be judged if they don't show up.

If someone comes to an event I put on, I consider that a gift - of their time and energy - it's not something they owe me, even if they did 'RSVP'. If I know them personally and they promise me they'll be there and they don't, maybe I'd ask them about it. But if I don't know them and all they do is RSVP on a social networking site...I'm not going to hold them to that. It just isn't the same as a personal promise, to me. Maybe it is to you...but maybe you should adjust your expectations if you are feeling disappointed a lot.

The world is full of people with different standards and different habits. My suggestion for the "showing up rating" wasn't about making rules - it was about having an indicator of reality. My reality for RSVPing reliability is about 85%, at the moment. I'm fine with people knowing that and planning accordingly. That is all the ratings would indicate - reality. Not a judgment.

I don't want to live in a world where we judge each other for who we are. I want to live in a world where we can each be ourselves, be honest about it, and be received as that and that be OK.

Be sure to email anyone who was at the last one or wanted to make it to the last one.

I emailed Dan, he said he hadn't thought of that idea specifically and he would keep it in mind for future developments. So I'm guessing - if you want it, lobby for it. =)

Since this problem isn't going to go away through scolding, perhaps there is a technological solution.

If the person who RSVP'd and actually went could "claim" their showing up - say "I really went" - with a button of some kind in their profile or through an email after the event - and the host would confirm it - then it would establish a "Showing Up" rating. And this would be available to the host of an event. So if someone RVSPs and has a 100% "Showing Up" rating, you can be reasonably assured they will be there. However if they have a 50% "Showing up" rating, then you know that sometimes they RSVP and don't actually go. And it could show "based on X events" so you know how many data points the rating is going on. Kind of similar to the rating /feedback systems on sites like eBay.

I am one of these dreaded people who sometimes don't go when I RSVP. The reason is that I struggle with depression and sometimes am not up to going to something when I thought I would be. And when I'm in that space, it's also very hard for me to call or communicate that I won't be coming. Not an excuse, but it is a reality for me, and I'd be happy to have an "85%" rating so people would know not to count on me 100% since that isn't realistic. If this was implemented then everyone would at least know a little better what is likely to happen, which is what seems to be people's need - to have more certainty about who will show up.

Or, another idea would be, everytime you RSVP it could ask you "how often do you show up when you RSVP" and people could just say "85%" or whatever. This would be simpler but would rely on the honor system.

I wouldn't classify Adsense under affiliate marketing. Your success at each is based on very different factors.

With affiliate marketing, you generally choose individual products to promote. With AdSense the ads are fed in based on your content. It's much more like traditional advertising in magazines - but much more automated. You need to create a site that people want to read, and a topic that there are good ads for.

I have made a lot more with AdSense then I ever did with affiliate marketing. The site I have it on is www.beadage.net. It's a small site, I hardly ever update it, and it more than pays my rent each month. (I have a 2 bdrm apt in a close-in neighborhood in PDX). I'm making a general statement b/c Google doesn't like you posting your actual earnings. (If you got to my site, please DON'T click on the ads unless you are actually interested in the product - Google gets really upset about "fraudulent clicks".)

I think the key is having a site that is something people want to read about, and that is about a topic people shop for. Hobby sites work well for this - they come to read the articles, and they are also people who need to buy the things related to the articles. Then it's just a matter of traffic.

Not every site is going to do well with it, because the ads that would get served up aren't really relevant to the readers of the site. For instance on most blogs they are not relevant. My other site www.graffitiwallpaper.com - free wallpaper - gets a lot more traffic but made no money on Adsense. People come for free stuff and they aren't in a shopping frame of mind - plus there aren't many relevant ads anyway (I had to screen out the real wallpaper ads LOL). So I took them off. Not every site will make money. The benefit of that site for me now is just PageRank and fun.

I think people are sick of AdSense being stuck in places where it's not relevant - but they will still click if the ad is about something they want or need. It's all about relevance to the user.

The amount you get from each click also depends on the industry. If the Adwords prices are really high for the industry, you'll make more from the clicks (but there might be more competition too).

Hope that helps some. I'm not an expert, just giving my personal experience over the past few years with it. I don't make a living off it - but I make about 1/4 of my living off it and that makes it a great supplement to the rest of my income.