Stamping Is My Business!

29 Hours Left To Sign Up!

Just a quick note to remind you there are just 29 hours (or less) left to sign up for the Winning Workshops & Profitable Parties Boot Camp.  You have until Tuesday at 10:00 p.m. eastern to sign up.

If you're looking for strategies to increase the number of workshops you're doing, and/or increase sales, attendance and follow-up bookings, this Boot Camp is the one you want to take!

More info on the Winning Workshops Boot Camp can be found at:
http://www.stampingismybusiness.com/2009workshopboot.htm

Tomorrow is also the last day to get the 2009 Boot Camp Pass.  The 2009 Boot Camp Pass gives you access to the remaining four Boot Camps of 2009 for almost half off the full price.

More info on the 2009 Boot Camp Pass cad be found at:
http://www.stampingismybusiness.com/2009bootcamppass.htm

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Quote of the Week and Bonus 'Shark Tank' Video

"I would spray you down with water and every time you said, 'I don't know,' I'd hit you with an electric cattle prod!  You gotta know this stuff!

 - Kevin O'Leary, Venture Capitalist, on the importance of knowing your numbers

This quote comes directly from last night's episode of my new favorite TV show, "Shark Tank."  It's a reality show where entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to five investors (the 'Sharks').  The entrepreneurs are looking for thousands to millions of dollars in exchange for a stake in their business.

What makes this show worth watching... and why I've been recommending it to all of my clients... are the questions the Sharks ask the entrepreneurs.  They're the same questions YOU should be able to answer for your business!

In the segment below, watch what happens when the entrepreneur doesn't know her numbers.  And ask youself, how many times have you run with an idea, like a class, without knowing YOUR numbers?

'Shark Tank' airs Sunday nights at 9:00 p.m. eastern on ABC.

Citing Family Needs, Ronda Wade Leaves SU Advisory Board

Stampin Up! annouced yesterday that Ronda Wade will not serve on the SU Advisory Board.

According to the SU statement, "Ronda's concerns center around her family...and (she) feels the need to be there for her family as much as possible. Based on these circumstances, Ronda has decided not to serve on the Advisory Board this year."

In the same statement, Stampin' Up! CEO, Shelli Gardner applauds Ronda's decision:

 

"From our very beginning, we have told demonstrators that their first priority needs to be their families... Her decision shows incredible insight, wisdom, and consideration..."

 

The vacant spot will be filled by Tara Bazata, who served on the Advisory Board in 2001-2002.

 

 

PayPal Doubles Their Fees... Without Telling Anyone!

If you’re a PayPal customer, you may be in for a surprise the next time you look at your account.

Personal accounts are now charged a 2.9% fee + 30 cents to receive payments for “Goods” or “Services”, something that was previously free. No formal announcement about the change was made.

What's even more unbelievable is that they tried to sneak this change in without telling anyone.

You can read more about it here.

Quote of the Week

"Don't try to be all things to all people as a blogger. Know who you're trying to help and focus upon them to the best of your ability."

 - Darren Rowse

Buying A Printer? Here's What You Need To Know...

What do you need to know before buying a printer?  Inc Magazine's Hannah Clark Steiman spoke to a salesperson at J&R Music World in New York City to find out:

Twitter Now Stands At 21 Million!

Twitter added another million users in July, a growth rate of 6% over the previous month.  The total number of Twitter users in the U.S. now stands at 21.1 million!

Compared to this time last year, Twitter has grown by an astonishing 2614%!

And remember, this is only the number of users who are going to Twitter's main website.  This number does NOT include users who Tweet from desktop applications like Seesmic Desktop or TweetDeck, so the real number of users is probably MUCH higher!

Are you following SIMB on Twitter?  If not, go to http://twitter.com/stampingismybiz and click the 'Follow' button.

Facebook Adds Another 10 Million!

ComScore just released their July numbers, and Facebook continues their incredible growth, adding 10 million users in the U.S.  This brings the total number of Facebook users to 87.7 million Americans!

If you're not following Stamping Is My Business on Facebook, you can do so by simply going to www.facebook.com/stampingismybusiness and clicking 'Become A Fan.'

The 2009 Boot Camp Pass - Get Four Boot Camps for the Price of Three!

For those of you planning on attending all four remaining Boot Camps of 2009, I'm happy to annouce the 2009 Boot Camp Pass.

Purchsing the Pass gives you access to all four Boot Camps (see schedule posted below) at the lowest possible price - just $44.99 per Boot Camp!  You'll save $60 vs. the what you would spend if you registered for each Boot Camp individually at the full price.

That means, you'll get four Boot Camps for the price of three!

Prices go up on August 18th, and the Pass will not be available after September 1st.

For more information, or to purchase your Pass, visit www.stampingismybusiness.com/2009bootcamppass.htm

The Winning Workshops & Profitable Parties Boot Camp - Early Bird Discounts Available NOW!

Since there's been a renewed emphasis on the workshop as a business-building tool, I've rearranged my original schedule to start the Fall 2009 Boot Camp season with The Winning Workshops & Profitable Parties Boot Camp!

Whether you're struggling to book workshops and/or you're looking to generate more attendees, sales and follow-up bookings from the workshops you already have on your calendar, The Winning Workshops & Profitable Parties Boot Camp can help!

You'll learn strategies for increasing your bookings, maximizing your attendance, blowing out your sales AND improving your follow-up.

This is a must-attend Boot Camp for any stamping business owner who wants the workshop to become a significant component of their business.

Early Bird Discounts for this Boot Camp expire soon. 

You can learn more at www.stampingismybusiness.com/2009workshopboot.htm

2009 Boot Camp Schedule Announced - Workshops, Blogs, Marketing, and Social Networking!

I'm happy to annouce the remaining Boot Camps for 2009:

The Winning Workshops & Profitable Parties Boot Camp - September 1st thru September 22nd, 2009

The 2009 Blogger's Boot Camp - September 29th thru October 20th, 2009

The 2009 Marketing & Advertising Boot Camp - October 27th thru November 17th, 2009

The 2009 Social Networking Boot Camp - November 24th thru December 15th, 2009

 

Please see the posts above for more information on our first Boot Camp, Winning Workshops & Profitable Parties, as well as the 2009 Boot Camp pass, which will allow you to attend all four Boot Camps at a fraction of the full price!

 

Quote of the Week

"The worst students make the best entrepreneurs. You have an issue with authority because anyone with any authority your whole life has told you, ‘You are stupid' or implied it. So you always hate your boss just because they're in charge. What you can't do with books you usually learn to do with your mouth. If there's one thing that an entrepreneur can do well, it's they know how to express themselves. They usually talk in double time to make up for all the time they couldn't talk in class because they didn't have the answers.  I rarely get an e-mail from a successful entrepreneur without gross grammatical errors. And I interpret that as a great sign, like, "Oh, this guy's going to be good."

 - Barbara Corcoran

Don't Like PayPal? Here Are 4 Other Payment Options...

Running your business is hard.  One way to make it easier, though, is to make it easy for your customers to pay you.  Most often, this means taking credit cards.

In addition to the credit card merchant their company provides, the majority of stamping business owners use PayPal to collect payments on classes, class planners, etc.

Some, however, are not crazy about PayPal.  If you fall into that camp, here are four more options for you to consider:

1. Amazon Payments

2. Yahoo Merchant Solutions

3. Authorize.net

4. Google Checkout

To read about the pros and cons of each of these services, as well as PayPal, click here.

Do You Know Your Business' Critical Numbers?

Norm Brodsky, of Inc. Magazine, discusses the critical numbers you need to know to run your business, and why having someone else keep track of them, like an accountant, isn't the same thing:

The 10 Core Values of Zappos

Right after selling Zappos.com to Amazon.com for a cool $840 million, Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh, sat down with Entrepreneur magazine.  In the interview he discusses, among other things, the 10 Core Values that made Zappos.com such a hit:

1. Deliver WOW through service.
2. Embrace and drive change.
3. Create fun and a little weirdness.
4. Be adventurous, creative, and open-minded.
5. Pursue growth and learning.
6. Build open and honest relationships with communication.
7. Build a positive team and family spirit.
8. Do more with less.
9. Be passionate and determined.
10. Be humble.

You can read the full interview by clicking the link below: http://www.entrepreneur.com/ebusiness/successstories/article202710.html