Stamping Is My Business!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK - My favorite client quote today

"It all went haywire when I stopped keeping track."

 - Coaching client who wishes to remain anonymous

VIDEO - What To Consider When Buying A New Computer For Your Business

The new YouTube channel is up and running.  We'll be adding new videos to it several times a month. 

This week's video is a timely one.  As you get closer to the end of the calendar year, it's a good idea to take a look at your tax picture.  If you're showing a profit and you're going to take a tax hit... AND if you were planning on doing it in a few months anyway... you might want to consider purchasing a new computer for your busniess before the end of the year.

This video goes through the list of factors and specifications to consider.

Enjoy!  And click here to subscribe to the SIMB YouTube Channel!

Cyber Monday - How's Your 'Last Day' Marketing? And here's mine...

Hopefully, you've all been able to take advantage of Black Friday this year.  As I mentioned in my post to you Friday, you need to make sure you're getting in front of your customers.

Even if the weekend hasn't lived up to your expectations yet, don't forget you still have today - Cyber Monday - to meet those goals!

Cyber Monday is one of the busiest online shopping days of the year.  As people return to work from a long weekend, ironically, they tend to do an extraordinary amount of online shopping from work!

Make sure you're reminding your customers of your holiday weekend specials, just as I'm about to remind you of ours.

One clarification... in addition to the Free Shipping special below, all products are already 10% off as part of our holiday season sale.  That means, if you purchase product today, you'll get free shipping AND 10% off!

Here are the specials running through the end of the day:

1. FREE SHIPPING AND 10% OFF ALL SIMB PRODUCT ORDERS!

No codes necessary. Free shipping will be automatically applied to all book, CD and logo merchandise orders.  That, again, is in addition to the 10% off we're already giving you.

Check it out at www.stampingismybusiness.com/holidaycatalog.htm

2. THE BUSINESS STAMPERS COACHING GROUP - FREE FOR THE REST OF 2009!

Join the premier online community for business-minded stamping business owners. New business-building content EVERY weekday! And now, you can join and get the rest of 2009 for free!

Check it out at www.stampingismybusiness.com/businessstampers.htm

Have a great, profitable day!

NOT-SO-SERIOUS SUNDAY - Viral Video: The Muppets Bohemian Rhapsody

The power of YouTube!  This video has been averaging a million hits a day!  When you combine the power of the Muppets with the music of Queen, you're going to get a hit!

PERSONAL FINANCE - Should You Purhcase The Extended Warranty

We've all been there.  

We purchase an appliance, or an electronic item, and the salesperson asks if we'd like to purchase an Extended Warranty.

They usually tell you what a great deal it is, and how it offers great protection if your purchase should malfunction.

But is the Extended Warranty really a good deal?

According to Consumer Reports... 

No!

the magazine, citing decades of research, warns consumers away from Extended Warranties for the following reasons:

• The standard warranty covers many of the same repairs
• Most appliances and electronics will not malfunction during the period covered by the Warranty
• The cost of the repair is often comparable to the cost of the the Extended Warranty
• You may already be getting a similar deal automatically when you charge the purchase to a particular credit card

If you do decide to go for the Extended Warranty, Consumer Reports recommends you spend no more than 20% of the purchase price, and always try to negotiate a better deal!

Free Shipping On All SIMB Products AND Free BSCG For The Rest of 2009!

Today is Black Friday - the busiest shopping day of the year!

Hopefully, you're actively promoting your Black Friday specials to your customers the same way I'm promoting mine to you!

Today thru Monday, we're running two specials:

1. FREE SHIPPING ON ALL SIMB PRODUCT ORDERS!

No codes necessary. Free shipping will be automatically applied to all book, CD and logo merchandise orders.

Check it out at www.stampingismybusiness.com/holidaycatalog.htm

2. THE BUSINESS STAMPERS COACHING GROUP - FREE FOR THE REST OF 2009!

Join the premier online community for business-minded stamping business owners. New business-building content EVERY weekday! And now, you can join and get the rest of 2009 for free!

Check it out at www.stampingismybusiness.com/businessstampers.htm

Have a great, profitable weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!

On behalf of my wife, Liz, my son, John and myself, I'd like to wish you all a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving.

Enjoy the day!

TECH TIP - Opening A New Tab (Without Your Fingers Ever Leaving The Keyboard)

If you're like me, you probably have one browser window open... with LOTS of tabs.

I admit it... I'm a tabbing maniac.  Right now, I have six tabs open to six different websites.

What gets annoying, though, is having to mouse up to the menu bar, and File, New Tab every time I want to open up a new one.

Well... there's a shortcut for that!  CTRL+T!

It couldn't be easier.  Just hit CTRL+T and a new tab will immediately open in your browser.

Not only that... the text in the new address bar will be highlighted, so you can just type in the new URL.  No muss... no fuss.

For more Tech Tips, click here.

SIMB CLIENTS IN THE NEWS - Marni Levett on YourParentingInfo.com!

 

Marni Levett, SU Demonstrator and longtime Coaching Client, recently recieved some nice, national exposure when she was featured in an article on crafting ideas to keep your family busy while waiting for the turkey!  The article ran on YourParentingInfo.com and has generated a lot of traffic to Marni's StampMonkeys site.

Marni is out second SIMB PR client to go national in as many months!

For those of you who don't know, SIMB PR is the press release distribution and follow-up service we offer to a limited number of Coaching Clients, on a market-exclusive basis. 

To view Marni's article, click here.

To see examples of other SIMB PR Clients in the news, click here.

32 Hour Warning!

 
Just wanted to do a quick post to let you know you have just 32 hours left to sign up for upcoming Social Networking Boot Camp.

If you're trying to figure the whole Facebook/Twitter/YouTube thing out... or if you feel ike you're not getting the response you should be getting from these platforms, I encourage you to take this Boot Camp.

Once the first call begins tomorrow night, registration will be closed.  And we won't be offering this Boot Camp again for many, many months.

To learn more, or to register, click here.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"80% of Americans are having a near-life experience."

 - Bill Phillips

NOT SO SERIOUS SUNDAY - Viral Video - Mascot Dance

Spreading like wildfire on the internet... the mascot dance:

PERSONAL FINANCE SATURDAY - The Rule of 72

Ever wonder how long it will take you to double your investment?

You can figure it out by using the 'Rule of 72.'

Just take your rate of return and divide it into 72 to approximate how many years it will take to double your money.

For example, if you were making an 8% compounded rate of return on your investment:

72/8=9

It would take you approximately 9 years to double your money.

Come back every Saturday for another Personal Finance Tip or story.  To see previous posts in the Personal Finance category, click here.

PHOTOGRAPHY FRIDAY - Two Tips To Make Your Photos Stand Out

If you look at the photos you've taken over the years, you'll probably begin to notice some similarities in the way they're composed, as well as the point-of-view you're shooting from.

Taken one-at-a-time, these similarities don't matter much.  When you're looking at lots of photos at once, though.  Say, for example, in a scrapbook, these similarities take away some of the excitment the book should generate.

Here are two tips you can employ right away to raise the level of your photography and make each photo stand out:

1. Foreground/Background Composition - I don't care how interesting a photo is.  You can always make it more interesting by placing something in the foreground.  This creates a greater depth in the photo and provides more eye candy for the viewer.

2. Perspective - If every one of your shots are taken straight-on, the 'wow' factor you gain when changing the perspective will amaze you.  Get down on the floor and shoot up.  Get up on a ladder and shoot down.  The possibilities are endless, but the effect will always be powerful.

By the way, I did get out to photograph the Leonid Meteor Shower this week.  Here's the best shot I took - Leonids in Orion:

Get A Jump On 2010... And Check Out These Numbers... SIMB Coaching Openings

12 lines from now, I'm going to share a statistic that will blow you away...

 - Are you one of those people who truly believes that 2010 can be YOUR year? 

 - Are you somebody who isn't letting the negative media drumbeat of economic news slow them down?

 - Have you resolved to achieve ALL of your goals next year!

AND... are you one of those people who understands that if you want to give yourself the best possible chance of success in the New Year, you can't wait until January 1st to get started?

If so, I'd like to invite you to step into 1-on-1 or Group Coaching.

It's REAL coaching for stamping business owners who are serious about building their business.

How serious?

Well, over the last six weeks, SIMB 1-on-1 and Group Coaching clients, who make up less than 1% of all Stampin' Up Demonstrators, HAVE BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR OVER 10% OF THEIR NEW RECRUITS!

Want to learn what I'm teaching them? 

Do YOU want to part of this?

We currently have JUST ONE 1-ON 1 AND THREE GROUP OPENINGS beginning in December (calls actually start next week):

GROUP COACHING

- Tuesday mornings at 9:00 a.m. Eastern - 1 space available
- Wednesday evenings at 10:00 p.m. Eastern - 1 space available
- Thursday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern - 1 space available
- Thursday evenings at 10:00 p.m. Eastern - CLOSED

To learn more, or sign up for Group Coaching, you can go to http://www.stampingismybusiness.com/GroupCoaching.htm

1-ON-1 COACHING:

At this time, we have no openings available for a BI-WEEKLY 1-on-1 Coaching client. If you'd like to be placed on a Waiting List for the next available opening, please e-mail me

To learn more, or sign up for 1-on-1 Coaching, you can go to http://www.stampingismybusiness.com/OneOnOne.htm

THE BUSINESS STAMPERS COACHING GROUP

High-tech Coaching at a low-tech price.  If you want to plug into a community of business-minded stamping business owners, who are focused on creating and growing a long-term, sustainable, profitable business, but you don't feel up to the intensity of the other two options, I would invite you to take the 7-day free trial of the Business Stampers Coaching Group.

To learn more or sign up for the BSCG Free Trial, you can go to http;//www.stampingismybusiness.com/BusinessStampers.htm

 

The Small Groups meet via conference call once per week. On the call, each member has time to talk about their personal business and receive personal coaching from me, as well as helpful guidance from the other Group members. Following that, I then cover our topic of the month.

1-on-1 Coaching is a more intense Coaching model. It's for those stamping professionals who would like to see speedier progress, or feel like they would benefit more from the individual format.

All openings are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Once a slot if full, I will start a waiting list for future openings.

To learn more, or sign up for Group Coaching, you can go to http://www.stampingismybusiness.com/GroupCoaching.htm

To learn more, or sign up for 1-on-1 Coaching, you can go to http://www.stampingismybusiness.com/OneOnOne.htm

To learn more or sign up for the BSCG Free Trial, you can go to http;//www.stampingismybusiness.com/BusinessStampers.htm

If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me.