$1,000 Grant Up for Grabs

Idea Cafe is a great little small biz site. What's more, they offer small grants to help business owners operate. I met one of them recently here in New Orleans, Marchand Ink, when I needed to have some oversized clips scanned. Idea Cafe offers small business grants to deserving (and aren't we all?) small business owners. Through April 1, you can apply for a thousand bucks by clicking here. While there you can also find out more about the cafe including other grant and networking opportunities. Good luck!

Take Advantage of all Networking Opportunities

You should never pass up an opportunity to toot your own business horn. I previously wrote about having customized shirts printed as a way to advertise your business. There are other cheaper ways to get the word out.

For instance, this past Saturday, I attended the State of the Black Union here in New Orleans. 5,000 plus individuals attended this free empowerment seminar to hear the likes of Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton and the great Dr. Cornel West speak. Many also came for the opporutnity to hear Sen. Clinton speak. I came to hear the message but I also came to network. I passed out my business card to many interested (and a few disinterested!) attendees. If just one person calls me with a writing job then it was worth it.

I saw others there with the same idea in mind. Many people were passing out flyers about their business and one guy was selling (trying to that is) lamanated pictures of Barack (a picture that appeared on Time Magazine) for ten bucks.


Remember, if you don't toot your own business horn, who will? So get out there and network. You should never leave home without a few business cards in tow and take every opportunity to spread the word about yourself and your business.

Running Your Business When You Are Sick

When you work outside your home and an illness rears its germy little head, you can always pick up the phone and call in sick. But when you work for yourself, at home or otherwise, taking a sick day or two can put quite a strain on your profits.


My seven-year-old son, Tyler, who generally does not like to share, was more than willing to give me his cold. Being that he is 36 years younger than I am, he was able to bounce back pretty quickly. I, on the other hand, struggled for a week to rid myself of what was a simple cold/flu-like malady. Each day I dragged myself out of bed and tried to work but the fever and the drugs got the better of me. I ended up missing a week of work and possibly a few writing assignments. Today, I was vindicated when in the span of about 30 minutes I sent a query and received a contract for what looks to be a long-term project.

What’s a SOHO warrior to do? If you have young kids, you can probably expect a few days where you will be unable to work because either your child is ill or you have picked up something they have (or both). There’s not much you can do with the exception of practicing preventive medicine.

When you own your own business you need to take care of yourself. You have bills to pay! I walk daily as a way to keep in shape and to stay in relatively good health. I try to eat right and get enough sleep at night. Gone are the days when I work until 2 a.m. I work about 4 hours during the day and another hour or two at night. I don’t work on Sunday and I work very little on Saturday unless I absolutely have to. Of course, I don’t get holidays off and I have no vacation time so it balances itself out. If I am under deadline I will work a few extra hours but I have found that if I am organized, I am more productive and get more done each day.


Preventive medicine, along with a healthy lifestyle should hopefully keep you running at top speed and if you are ill hopefully you won’t be for long. Then you can get back to the business of running your business and making money.

Will Write For Food

Here's a relatively low-cost way to advertise your business- wear a custom designed t-shirt. I have recently come across a great little website called Cafepress.com I picked up half a dozen writing-related shirts, including Will Write for Food, Writer for Hire and Have You Hugged a Writer Lately? I bought them because, well, I thought they were cute but as a result of wearing a few of them, I have realized that they are also a way for me to advertise on the cheap. Several people have asked me if I was indeed a writer and I've given out a few or my business cards as a result. Will I make a sale? Don't know but it can't hurt.

Cafepress has a huge selection of shirts to choose from or you can create your own. There are other products to choose from including mugs, totes, and home decor. Yes, you can always order from a promotional advertising catalogue but many require you to order at least a dozen shirts and they charge set-up fees and so on. You can order just one shirt or several. Plus you can create your own design.


So if you're looking for a fun, affordable way to advertise your business, create your own custom t-shirt, mug or other item for just a few dollars. Stop by cafepress.com and see what they have to offer or create your own design today.

Free Business Directory

It's Mardi Gras here in New Orleans but instead of partying I'm here at home looking for good stuff to pass on to my fellow SOHO warriors. Here's a website that allows you to post a free business listing. You must post by location. The listing will be active in a matter of seconds. Run here and get your free listing.

Free Small Downloadable Small Business Forms

It's not always necessary to reinvent the wheel. Let's face it, you're trying to grow your business. You probably don't have a lot of free time. But you need the tools necessary to successfully operate your business, right?

Click over to smartbiz.com. The site offers dozens of free downloadable business forms. Here's a small sample:


Daily Cash Sheet


Employee Time Sheets


Customer Satisfaction Survey Form

and much more.


You can view all the forms here.

Google AdSense by Paul Deba

Google AdSense Tips – The Need for Researching Keywords

Most web based entrepreneurs are of course familiar with the concept of keywords, and these professionals no doubt already know how important these focused words can be to the success of their business. When it comes to profiting from the Google AdSense program, keywords are no less important, and it is vital for all existing and would be program participants to do their research and choose their keywords carefully.

This is because Google will use the keywords included within the site as part of its criteria when deciding which types of ads to host on your site. Including the wrong keywords can cause the program to host inappropriate and less profitable ads, while using the right keywords can bring those targeted ad dollars right to your virtual doors.

Navigating the waters of keywords and their effect on Google AdSense is not easy, however, and one of the most common mistakes seen by web consultants is focusing exclusively on the highest paying keywords. These webmasters naturally assume that the highest paying keywords will naturally yield the best results but in fact this is not always the case. After all, it is not enough for a Google AdSense enabled site to merely attract visitors. In order to be successful and profitable, that site must keep visitors there long enough for them to review, and click on, the ads being hosted.

It is therefore, essential for all AdSense program participants to look at their sites with the eyes of a visitor. This can of course be difficult to do, but it is an essential part of the customer service process. It is important to look at your site as if you were encountering it for the first time. Take note of what the site has to offer, what it does well, and what could be improved. It may be helpful to have several others look at your site as well and provide their feedback. This kind of honest feedback can be invaluable in producing a truly useful, intuitive and user friendly experience for visitors.

As you review your own site, consider the type of ads you would most likely expect to see there. For instance, if your site focuses on the antique car hobby, you might expect to see ads for car restoration companies, car show promoters, car parts catalogs and websites and the like.

After you have determined which types of ads you would like to attract to your site, try to incorporate the appropriate keywords into your site. Using keywords that are both popular and profitable is a winning strategy when designing your site to maximize AdSense revenue.

There are of course many ways to research the relative popularity of keywords, some free and some not. If you have an account established with the Google AdWords program, you can check the statistics available at the site to determine which are the most popular keywords in your area of expertise. In addition, the site provides the Google AdWords Keywords Tool. This handy tool allows website owners to quickly and easily find alternative keywords to use on their sites.

In addition to the tools provided by Google itself, there area number of other programs and websites which allow users to research keywords and choose the right ones. These keyword tracking tools can be quite valuable when it comes to designing, tweaking and optimizing websites for maximum effect and maximum AdSense revenue.

Please take the time to visit http://www.manomanju.com/ad to learn more Google AdSense Tips.

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