Part One: Facebook Landing Pages – Headlines that Rock

 The landing page of your Facebook ad is just as important (if not more so) as all other aspects of your Facebook campaign.

Your landing page choice can make or break your campaign. There are a lot of elements to the landing page you should consider. Today we’re going to explore ONE aspect of landing page choice – The Headline.

Consider the headline on your best converting landing page …

Chances are pretty good that the headline that is working well for you elsewhere will still perform with Facebook traffic. Profitable headlines sum up the message you wish to send. Remember to consider the important elements of basic copywriting here.

• Who is your customer?
• What is their current pain?
• How can you solve it?

1) Use a short video 

Ever heard the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words”? Well, videos can be even more powerful. Just be sure to keep it short and sweet. The purpose of the video is to ask them to hit LIKE or opt-in or buy your stuff. NOT to train them, or keep them there for 45 minutes.

2) Focus on the benefit and outcome for your customer 

The headline should present a benefit to the visitor, but it should also touch on their current pain. Be as specific as you can.

ie: “Learn how to get a local client within a week.”

3) Make me laugh 

Alternatively, you can use humor.. A headline, image, or landing page that makes me laugh is always good!

Humor gets attention and catches people off-guard, lightens the mood, and helps you connect.

 4) One step at a time

Another strategy to use is the “step-by-step” approach. I LOVE this!

5) Standard squeeze pages work wonders 

There is no need to re-invent the wheel. When you have a high-converting landing page on your website, i-Frame it up, or copy it over to Facebook. This style of landing page is more effective in some niches. Other niches respond better to a different approach. Use what works for you – in your market – with your audience.

Remember to always have a very clear call to action on your Facebook landing pages. First, you want them to click “LIKE”, then you want them to opt-in to your email auto-responder.

In copywriting, the saying is you should spend half of your time on your headline. This represents how important your headline is. It needs to grab the visitor’s attention within 5 seconds of them visiting your page, and the headline is usually the only way to do this.

So remember, grab their attention and keep them interested…

Now, not everyone who advertises on Facebook will have the resources to hire a copywriter, meaning you might have to learn how to write a great headline yourself. There are plenty of places to help you out, but here are some common headlines you can use as a template for your own pages.

Discover the Secret to…
How to…
3 Tips That Help You…
5 Quick Steps to…
Get A Free…
How I…

Copyblogger is a great place to learn everything you need to know about copy and headlines. I love Copyblogger! They do a great job of explaining how to write magnetic headlines.

Why should I test headlines?

Because you never know what is going to work.

It’s as simple as that. Every skilled marketer I know tests everything within an inch of its life. Seriously. Test your landing pages (Google Website Optimizer or Visual Website Optimizer). Test your images (by uploading duplicate ads and only changing the image). Test your headlines (using the Bit.ly Method – see below).

With all kinds of marketing, it’s very important to test everything you can. Tiny little changes can make all the difference:  the image, the colors, the headline, the targeting, etc. While everyone knows this, not everyone does it. Testing your headlines will show you exactly what is happening: how many people are staying on your site, how many leave immediately, and how many are converting.

The Bit.ly Method by Jen Sheahan

One cool thing I like to do for testing headlines is to set up a tracking link (Bit.ly, or something similar) for each headline I want to test. Then, I create a “Tweet” (Twitter) using the headline, and a Bit.ly tracking link to a blog post. I do this about three or four times, testing various headlines and set them all up in Hootsuite to be delivered over a period of time. A few days later, I log into Bit.ly and see how many clicks each Tweet received. Usually, there is a clear winner. One headline will grab people’s attention and make them click the link. I’ve found a winner!!

I then return to my blog, and change the title of the blog post (or the headline of my ad) to be the winning Tweet.

You can do the exact same thing with Facebook ads headlines.  Simply create different tracking links to the same landing page. Use one link for each ad headline, and let it loose. Using this method, you will see which ad drives the most traffic.

Do you feel inspired to get to work – creating headlines that make magic happen?  I hope so!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jennifer Sheahan is the founder of The Facebook Ads Lab, a full-service ads agency specializing in Facebook PPC ads. The FBAdsLab provides ad campaign management, training, and mentor programs for marketers. The goal of the FBAdsLab is to help business owners learn all they need to know to be successful in advertising on Facebook; to take control of their traffic so they can stay ahead of their competition and be leaders in their field. Helping people understand Facebook marketing and delivering outstanding results are the most crucial aspects of the FBAdsLab mission. 

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And the Lord answered, If you had faith (trust and confidence in God) even [so small] like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree,
Be pulled up by the roots, and be planted in the sea, and it would obey you.
Luke 17:6

What is faith? Does it really mean for your business? How can you incorporate faith in your business every day?

When most people define faith they usually go to the familiar scripture Hebrews 1:11 (NLT)which states…

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen;
it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

However in understanding how faith truly works, one would need to consider Luke 17:6. When you read what Jesus stated about faith it sheds an entirely different light on the term we know as “faith”. It is through this verse that we are able to see that it is the action that determines the true power of our faith. And, there is no doubt that there is power through faith.

When it comes to business, many Believers would rather rely on worldly faith because it seems more relevant and appears to be the safest route. This is a distorted belief because folks are easily swayed by the glitter of the world, and they miss out on the power that comes as a result of the kind of faith Jesus spoke about in Luke 17:6. In essence, what they often find is that faith in world is actually faith in the enemy; and eventually they discover their foundation is shaky at best, and in danger of falling apart.

For the Christian Woman in Business it is essential to understand this faith that Jesus spoke of Luke 17:6; because it is with this faith that we have the power to uproot a mulberry tree.

Perhaps a deeper look at what a mulberry tree actually is will help in understanding the power we actually have.

Depending on the type, a mulberry tree can grow anywhere from 30 to 80 ft in size. The branches are rather thick and the trunk can grow up to about 5 to 7 ft in circumference or bigger. It is also not unlike the tree to branch out and be as wide as some homes.

For many of us we cannot comprehend these facts because of the old nursery rhyme that says a mulberry is a bush. That fact is that a mulberry is a tree and a very powerful one. Bushes are easy to uproot, but a tree, and a mulberry one at that, is so great that it would take something commanding to uproot it.

Can you imagine what you can do with that kind of faith? Is the picture clearer now?

You have the POWER through your faith to uproot a giant!

Your business can be as successful as God deems if you exercise the faith you have. It makes no difference what your measure of faith is because Jesus reminds you yet again about the power you have to make phenomenal things happen in your business.

You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move.
Nothing would be impossible.
Matthew 17:20 NLT

Another reminder that you have the power to move giants!

Exercising faith is what causes the giants to move. If you want to see change in your business, then take action where your faith in concerned.

There are so many opportunities waiting on you to grab hold of. However it is the exercising of your faith that will open the doors for you.

Are you ready to move the giants in your business?

Have you ever heard a boring speaker-someone who puts you to sleep as he’s talking, or worse yet, makes you wish you WERE?  Maybe it was your mom as she droned on when you were a child about how you should have been more careful with your toys.  Perhaps it was your coworker while he regaled you with his accomplishments of the last twelve years.  Remember that teacher you once had who couldn’t have made geometry more interesting if it came with chocolate triangles?  Or that neighbor who would catch you on your way to the store and insisted upon sharing his latest escapades with crab grass?  Aunt Martha was famous for her gallstone surgery stories and Uncle Fred could always be counted upon at family gatherings to bring up the times of his youth he walked to school…in the snow…uphill…BOTH WAYS!

Being part of this organization makes you really smart? Why? Because the world is changing although our God isn’t!

Jill Hart is a leader ahead of her time.  When CWAHM was founded our economy was booming, well kind of.  Job security wasn’t the oxymoron it has become now.  These two words “job security” are now in contradiction with each other.  Some of you will know that I am a British export!  I came to America to live, just three years ago, and since that time the economy has plunged but that isn’t all.

I listened to the BBC news today and heard that British experts are forecasting that the job market is going to decline even further.  Government is slimming down and shedding jobs and the private sector is not anticipating hiring up.  I think most companies are trying to maintain or increase their profitability whilst holding down staff costs.  I don’t think the situation is any different here in America.

What does this mean for us?  It means that the home based entrepreneur looks a lot smarter today than they did 5 years ago.  If you are a home-based business owner stand tall, breath deeply, and rejoice in the goodness of God leading you to take charge of your own affairs and being smart about it.

Did you know that the world’s leading poll company, Gallup, has just brought out research to say that the economic recovery won’t come from central government but from the ability of cities to encourage new entrepreneurs to be entrepreneurial.

So what can you and I do?  We can look for ways to create business solutions that meet genuine needs in our community.  That may mean you simple expand your business to allow others to participate or you seek God’s help in taking your business to the next level.  God is the master builder and He can inspire you and I to dream dreams in our mind, then to create a plan for the implementation of those dreams.  Someone has said “A goal is a dream with a deadline.”  I agree.  Dreams need to be earthed in the soil of planning, activity, review and consistency.

Today, be proud of the fact that you are an entrepreneur and making a difference in our world.  Work is a holy pursuit and I think I just heard God whisper in my ear “Congratulations.”  Maybe today He is saying that to you, too.  Be encouraged and, like me, thank God for CWAHM!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jonathan Booth is the National Coach of the School of Entrepreneurship.  He is formerly the CEO of CARE for the Family in the UK, a sister organization to Focus on the Family.  Jonathan has led three Christian organizations and worked in over 50 countries.  He lives in Oregon with his wife, Karleen and an Aussie exchange student plus two dogs and has children and grandchildren in Indiana and London.

2012 has proven to be a challenging year for me in just one short month. If you have faced any challenges or are going through any type of adversity I pray that this message blesses you. When we are faced with adversity we have a crucial decision to make. We can let it overtake us and give up or we can fight back and keep moving forward.

I want to challenge you today to slap your adversity! When adversity is knocking you down and telling you to give up, go in a corner and cry your life away…I want you to get up, slap it back and keep going.

Each week I lead a coaching call and this week I had the privilege of hearing my clients slap their adversity! It may sound simple or even silly but I believe that it can be very powerful. Often times when we face setbacks in life we feel that we are entitled to be down. We feel an entitlement to give up…after all you lost a loved one, your marriage failed, you loss your job, your kids hate you etc.

Whatever your challenge may be I have discovered we have the power to not let it keep us down. We have the power to not sulk but celebrate. What are we celebrating you may be wondering? Well if you are dealing with a challenge, that means that you are still breathing. If you still have breath in your body God sees it fit for you to live another day on this earth. Each day that we have on this earth is yet another opportunity to maximize every aspect of our lives.

So I ask, are you ready to slap your adversity? I want you to decide how the adversity in your life can be a stepping stone for you. How can that heartache be the driving force for you to go beyond what you thought yourself capable to do? What is that thing that you would need to see take place in your life to overcome this challenge?

I want you to take some time to write down the area that is challenging you the most. The next thing that I want you to do is seriously consider what is available to you to do right now that could help you overcome that challenge. I do understand that some areas of adversity may not even be intended for you to overcome but rather to simply move forward. If that is the case for you I want you to write down what it would feel like to move forward from this challenge. Whether you are dealing with a significant loss, some type of disappointment or pain I know and can tell you that God is greater than anything that you may be facing. Put it in His hands and He will direct your steps. Finally after identifying your areas of adversity and ways of overcoming I want you to put your trust in God and DO IT!! Do the thing that you wrote down. Go full force into the direction of planting seeds for tomorrow and not dragging weeds from yesterday. Are you with me? Home Executives, it is time to slap adversity and move forward.

Do you ever wonder if those moms in the Bible really had all the “issues” and dilemmas we face today? Can we really look at their stories and their examples and find nuggets for our journeys? I believe that we can. And while the details may vary over the millenniums, the fundamentals remain solid. If some of those work-at-home-moms had the opportunity to write you a letter today, it may look something like this:

Dear Fellow CWAHM,

We may not have met in person, but I believe we have a few things in common!  First of all, introductions: I am Noah’s wife.  You probably know all about my husband and the story of that crazy ark.  Sometimes I still can’t believe we went on such an excursion!

For the first seven days, there we were on dry land, in that boat with all of those animals, not to mention my sons and their wives.  When it started to rain, though, and those waters rose, I thanked God daily that He crammed us all in there and that – out of everyone on earth – He set us apart and chose us.

Granted, there were times when I thought maybe one or two of my “shipmates” should have been left behind!  It wasn’t always “harmonious”, that’s for sure.  I wish I could tell you all the lessons I learned … maybe when we are together in heaven we can share stories about cramped spaces and lessons learned on the journey of life … and most of all,  sweet memories & blessings!

Sister, this much I know.  It was a long, arduous trip. There were tense moments and sweet ones.  There were many days that I didn’t know how much more I could take, when I was desperate for a moment to myself or a moment with my spouse.  And there were times when I missed those we left behind, when I grieved over their choices that took them from us forever.

Finally, over a year later, God delivered us! Did I feel like I’d be on that boat forever? Sometimes! Did I wonder why He tarried so long in saying “Enough”? Often! Yet it was worth it all: He gave us His great promise and made a covenant with Noah (and His people through the ages!). Our “light and momentary” troubles achieved for us an eternal glory that far outweighed them all!

And so I wish you strength for your journey, peace as you go, relief from your floods, and a rainbow of promise to remind you of the covenant God extends to you.

Did you find a truth or two in common with Noah’s wife? Have you experienced wild adventures, following God’s call (no matter how crazy it seems), family tensions, cramped quarters, being chosen of God, sweet memories, abundant blessings, needing a “moment”, grieving, loss, God’s deliverance, God’s unfailing promises, strength, peace, relief, an everlasting covenant?

Revisit your CWAHM friends of the Bible. Listen to their stories and see below the surface. The way God met them and used them and held them doesn’t change. And in case you need a reminder, God still paints rainbows in the sky.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Joy Jochems has been in ministry literally her whole life. While Joy is actively involved with her local church as youth ministry coordinator and lends a hand at CWAHM as devotional coordinator and guest contributor, she recognizes that her primary ministry is in her home, to her children. You can contact Joy at joy@cwahm.com.

Eat your frog? By now you’re wondering if I’ve gone stark raving mad! No, I’m not mad.

I first learned of this principle from Brian Tracy.

Your frog is the most important task of the day. It is the one thing which, if done quickly and effectively, will ensure your greatest success.

You see, when most people start their work for the day, they already have some idea of what they have to do. Let me give you a specific example.

Okay, imagine that these are the 5 tasks that await you on a particular day:

1. Read and respond to emails.
2. Phone somebody to resolve a query.
3. Set up a meeting.
4. Prepare monthly marketing plan.
5. Draft a PR rejection email and send.

Most people would probably do the tasks in this order – 1, 3, 2, 5 and 4.

Why?

Because that’s the easiest way to get through the list. After all, by 10:00 nearly all the items can already be ticked off the list.

But then a “typical day” happens – you have some client calls, queries, you play around on Facebook and Twitter, and before you know it, 4:30 has rolled around and you still haven’t done that monthly marketing plan.

Sound familiar?

That’s because you haven’t eaten your frog. Your most important task is still undone.

So let’s change it all around.

What if you walked into your office and did nothing else until your marketing plan was done? You’ve eaten your frog. And it’s only 9:00.

You then catch up on emails, and draft the rejection email (and save it as a template!) to send out. The “typical day” still happens but because the most important tasks are done, you can squeeze setting up the meeting and phoning that person into the tiny five-minute slots you do find during the course of any day.

You see, it’s what I’ve been teaching my time management clients for years when I tell them to ask themselves, “what’s the most important use of my time right now?”

If you get used to eating the frog first, the rest of your day can only get better. Your most horrible task is over and done with, and you can almost…but not quite…relax!

And if you have TWO frogs, then you eat the ugliest one first!

My challenge to you is this – just try it for a week and see how your productivity soars.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  Marcia Francois is a time management coach and speaker who inspires busy women to break out of overwhelm, make the most of their time and take purposeful and focussed action so they have the time and freedom to live life to the full. Visit http://purposefultimemanagement.com for your free Time Management Purpose Pack.

The term blog is short for web log, which started out meaning a personal online journal.  Back in the late 1990s when blogs first emerged, they were usually filled with personal posts about the owner’s daily life, thoughts, and problems.  They have since evolved into invaluable online marketing tools.  Blogs are now a “must-have” resource for any online business.

So jump into the 21^st century and read below to see why your business demands a blog!

1. Corporate Headquarters – Every company needs a home-base or corporate headquarters, so to speak.  A blog would be the hub of your business and establish your online presence.

2. Easy to Manage – The choices available to you when creating your blog are limitless.  With widgets, plug-ins, templates, etc. it is one of the easiest and quickest ways to build an effective, powerful website.  You will be amazed at the things you can do with your blog, even if you are technically-challenged.

3. Customer Interaction – A blog encourages customer interaction by allowing people to post their comments, opinions, questions, etc.  This will enable you to provide more effective customer service. It will also enable your customers and visitors to get to know you better which in turn will build trust and credibility.  Your blog will become an active community attracting more and more subscribers, followers, etc. by building relationships.

4. Cost-Effective Marketing – Research has shown that businesses with a blog have reduced marketing costs.  Not only are the costs lower with blogs, but the results are much more successful. Blogs do generate more customers at a lower cost!

5. Value and Education – Because of regular postings and fresh content, your blog will educate your visitors as well as add value to their visit.  For example: if you own an online jewelry store, you can add posts educating your visitors on jewelry.  How it’s made, the value of the different gems used, the quality of the workmanship, how to take care of your jewelry and much more helpful information can be given to your customers.  This will also help establish you as an expert so people will continue to come to you for help and information as well as for the products and/or service they need.

6. Free! – One of the best things about an effective blog is you can get one for free.   You do not have to pay a professional web designer hundreds or thousands of dollars to create your business headquarters.   Blogger and WordPress are two of the top blog providers.

7. Social Connections – A blog allows you to stay connected with your social sites more effectively.  You can also allow your visitors to share with their social pages as well.  With social media plug-ins and widgets, your visitors can simply click a button to share your site with all their followers, fans and friends.  All these social connections could spin a pretty big web of customers.

8. Business Connections – Through your blog, other online business owners can find you more easily, thus increasing your chances of forming business connections and alliances.  Joint ventures with other business owners can help get both sides more exposures, leads and sales.

9. Higher Traffic and Sales – Higher traffic and sales is a goal sought after by every online business owner.  Having a blog on your site can help you achieve this goal by the more effective marketing results it can create.  Your marketing is more efficient, your site is more valuable and educational, your online presence is much more announced and your networking circle is always expanding.  This should all lead to more traffic and increased sales.

10. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Good blogs consistently provide fresh and updated keyword-rich content.  This is exactly what Google and the other engines look for in a site.  Blogs also increase your chances of getting more quality inbound links.  This is another thing the search engines like.  As your blog grows and gets more visitors, the importance of it will also grow.  This can help you in the search engines as well.  Overall, a blog will more likely to better in the search engines than a standard website.

There are many more benefits to blogging than what I have mentioned in this article so if you are not already a blogger, you need to seriously consider becoming one.  You will be pleasantly surprised at how much it can benefit your business.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:   Don’t be one of the 95% of people who fail at their online business.  Terri Seymour can help you make money online.  Find out how to increase your traffic and sales with her popular “How to Build Your Online Business” ebook for FREE at:  ==> http://www.SeymourProducts.com.

©Terri Seymour

When you hear the word marketing what do you think? Do you picture a lot of people in business suits talking on the phone trying to sell you a product? Or maybe your mind flashes with pictures of graphs, charts and a lot of people in business suits. It is also possible that your brain just screams “NO! Please don’t give me another thing to worry about!” and shuts down when you hear that word. (I have actually had clients tell me that!) Running a business is tough enough on its own and doing it from home carries a unique set of challenges. Running a work at home business is scary enough. Throw marketing into the mix and it can be completely overwhelming. But it doesn’t really need to be that scary.

For our purposes, Webster’s Dictionary states that marketing is “the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service.”

That’s it. Not so scary. It boils down to how you’re going to tell people what you do and get them to come to you for what you need. Don’t run ahead of the game. Marketing is easier when you have a good idea of a plan and you stick with it. So where do you start? Well, instead of getting carried away by statistics, graphs, SEO marketing or social media, step back and take a look at where your marketing is right now.

The best place for you to start is to look at your website, your business cards, pamphlets…anything that you use to share with people what you do. Ask your friends if they’ll look at your business with a fresh eye and see what they think. Maybe they will ask some of their friends for a fresh look at what you do. It’s like when you watch those home repair shows or restaurant makeover shows and they bring in customers to be honest about what they think. Most of those home or restaurant owners are shocked with the opinions they hear. You might be surprised if someone comes to your website and isn’t quite sure what you do. Or maybe they have questions that aren’t being answered. The biggest thing to remember when you do this is not to make it personal. They aren’t making judgments on YOU. It may sting, but shake it off and look at it from a business perspective. These are your customers or clients – you need to be sure you’re meeting their needs appropriately.

Once you’ve gotten some opinions, you might want to look at your letterhead, your business cards and any other marketing materials that you might have and see if they all line up with the message that you want to send. It might be time for a revamp of some of those things to bring everything into line together.

I was watching a Superbowl pre-game show about Tom Brady, the quarterback of the New England Patriots football team. It highlighted his relationship with his long-time quarterback coach. He first met his coach when he was twelve years old and he has called him after every game he has played since to share with him how he can improve.

This really struck me. It reminded me of how we must consistently have someone in business who sharpens our iron (see Proverbs 27:17).

I had just prayed to God to bring other women in business who are called at the level to which I’m called and beyond to challenge me to make the necessary leaps to point out areas of improvement.

The Lord answered my prayers with Cheryl, a sister in Christ (whose name has been changed) who I have just recently met and with whom I felt an immediate connection. We have similar goals, similar gifts, similar HUGE vision and a similar magnitude of calling. Cheryl enthusiastically embraced my vision and when we connect for our weekly call, we always end up shouting with joy and thankfulness for finding each other. Her capacity to be authentically excited for me was evident and she came from a place of confidence, certainty and love.

Cheryl even took the time to tune into my recent webinar. When we connected for our weekly call she had something she wanted to share with me. Little did I know that it was a list of things I can do to improve my presentation. And if that was not enough, she shared how her husband was not impressed with my webinar and exactly why he wasn’t impressed.

When I hung up the phone from the conversation I had to sit and process how I was feeling for a moment – okay, it was more than a moment – it was about 20 minutes.

Then, the strangest thing happened. I was so grateful and open to her feedback because it had no hints of jealously, only a true desire to see my message reach the masses to whom I am called. She was absolutely right!

Then, I heard the Lord say, “You asked for someone to sharpen your iron.” I had to laugh out loud! Coming from a background of having to overcome deep insecurities and a family that demanded so much of me that I often felt like I didn’t measure up in my younger years, this was a breakthrough!

If you are ready for your vision to soar, you need at least one person who can give you honest, loving and excellent feedback so you can do what you do even better. If you already have your Cheryl, be grateful. If you don’t, it is time to ask the Lord to bring her forth and move into a whole new level of success and achievement.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ericka D. Jackson, Evangelist, Author and Kingdom Trainer, guides ministers and Christian business owners in achieving fearless success. She is the founder of The Fearless Revolution™ . You can get more information on her life’s work at http://www.erickajackson.com and receive your free Top 50 Ways to Grow Your Business or Ministry.

©2012 Ericka D. Jackson. All Rights Reserved.

Our last segment covered educating and informing clients, working in your skill set, being confident, and contracts. I hope you’re feeling more assured about how a virtual professional operates and are discovering some time and money savers along the way.

Time for busting a few more myths.

Myth 8: If I self promote my business it will be a turnoff.
BUSTED:  Having confidence in your business, the benefits your services and products provide, and the value you bring to those choosing work with you has HUGE market appeal. When people see you believe in your business, it’s natural for them to believe in your business, too.

Myth 9: I’ll have more time for myself. I can work less.
BUSTED: This is one of the greatest misconceptions about having your own business. There is definitely more flexibility for when work is performed but often that doesn’t always mean working less hours. A solo entrepreneur becomes the CEO, the accountant, the marketing director, the PR agent, the admin, and . . . you get the idea.

Myth 10: I can get government grant money to begin my business.
BUSTED:  There are very few government grants available for a business. Typically, Federal grants are only available to non-profits, state and local governments and larger businesses engaged in government-sponsored scientific research. However, federal, state and local government agencies provide loan guaranty programs that make it easier for small businesses to obtain start-up and expansion loans from commercial lenders.

Myth 11: Being a business owner means I can write everything off.
BUSTED: Sigh, if it were only that easy. It’s best to chat with your CPA about the types of write-offs that are applicable to your business model. Working from a home office will allow you to deduct a portion of your home utilities and some other often forgotten or overlooked expenses. Your accountant is the best authority in helping you recognize your eligible write-offs.

Myth 12: I don’t need a business plan or a marketing plan. I don’t want to squash the creativity and freedom of being an entrepreneur.
BUSTED:  Ever get in the car and start driving to . . . .? Probably not. Operating a business without a plan would be like driving without any idea of where you’re going. How will you know the route to take, when you arrive or who you’re supposed to meet? A business plan or marketing plan doesn’t have to be sterile and formalized but it should be written down (and referenced) so it’s more than an idea in your mind.

In our next segment we’ll shatter illusions about:

• Niches
• New ideas
• Balance and adjustments
• Overload
• New product development

Welcome to Day 36!

We are in the last week of our 40-day surrender. It seems—at least to me—that the time has flown and I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of this experience with you. Here’s a final word as we transition into the new thing that God has for us.

There comes a time in every surrendered person’s life that God removes every prop that has given he/she a sense of stability and comfort. It happened to me a few years back. Certainly not a good feeling, but necessary.

Perhaps you are experiencing something similar right now. You may be feeling some level of discomfort as God stretches you and forces you to learn who He is for yourself. The scripture reads, “For behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff [every kind of prop], the whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water.” Therefore, don’t be alarmed, this is the Lord’s doing.

Continue to pray and ask Him to reveal Himself and His plan to you. As you surrender He will continue to show you your next steps and bring you to higher heights and deeper depths in Him. He has a great plan for you and I pray that you continue to surrender your life and experience all that He has for you.

Many individuals, clubs and churches have committed to doing The 40-Day Surrender Fast for the Lenten Season. If you know of any one that would be interested in participating in the Surrender Fast please let them know that this structured time of fasting will occur from February 22 – April 7. The Surrender Fast team plans to provide the same level of support we did for the first-of-the-year fasters: weekly Morning Prayer conference calls, the Friday weekly wrap-up, Facebook support, and blog.

Again, please pass the word to your family and friends about what is to come. Likewise you are more than welcome to participate even if you are not fasting for Lent.

Surrender is a lifestyle and I pray you maintain this lifestyle for the rest of your days.

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To Read This Week: Exodus 3 & Isaiah 6

Challenge: What do you need to trust God with this week? What step of faith do you need to take?

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February is a special month for me. This is the time when I am reminded to celebrate the accomplishments of many great African Americans. It is the month that I celebrate my Sister’s   birthday. It is also the month that I celebrate the birth of my daughter oh and yes, in February I   celebrate love on Valentine’s Day!

Historically, Valentine’s Day celebrations have never impressed me. The usual red and pink heart shaped expressions of love don’t excite me. I am not fond of life size stuffed bears or balloons on a stick. I tend to avoid over-crowded restaurants and roses are equally as beautiful to me on February 13^th and 15^th.  Now please don’t misunderstand me, I cherish the opportunity to celebrate romantic love however, this year I choose an untraditional type of love to honor on Valentine’s Day. I invite you to do the same.

Instead of focusing on romance I will celebrate the love of Christ on Valentine’s Day. With Jesus Christ as my guide my emotions, time and resources will be free to love anyone not just my husband. Following Jesus’ example, I can even demonstrate love to clients, customers, business partners, virtual assistants, you name it! Love can become a way of doing business. Now, ask me how?

John 3:16a in my Bible says “For God so loved the world that He gave (His one and only Son).” If God chooses to love by giving, then why shouldn’t I? This Valentine’s Day I have identified numerous ways to show love to others by GIVING instead of expecting to receive.

So even if I don’t like the bears and balloons, it won’t stop me from buying them for my friend who finds them delightful. Here is a short list of some more of my ideas. You can use them love the people in your life by giving this Valentine’s Day.

• Prepare lunch and bring it to a neighbor. If you work from home, neighbors are like office mate equivalents.
• Give away gifts on your website
• Call people you met and never followed up with
• Send handwritten notes with words of affirmation to your assistant
• Offer your product or service free of charge to at least one person

I also plan to write a love letter to God. After all, He is my first love. As for all of the romantic stuff, I save that for my husband and never limit it to just one day a year. After all, he is the love in my life.

I hope you will agree that February is a special month and I pray you will enjoy it finding new ways to share the love in your heart. Luke 6:38 in the Bible says “Give and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” That’s what I call incentive! Let this February 14^th be an untraditional Valentine’s Day for your business and comment here to let me know any other ways you can think of to give?

Craigslist.org is one of those resources that is both great and terrible. When used ethically and responsibly, people can buy and sell a variety of products and services. But as with most free good things, there are always a few people who use a resource like Craigslist.org for deception and illegal activities. The category of work-at-home jobs is no exception. You can find a host of legitimate freelance and telecommuting jobs in nearly every city on Craigslist.org, but you have to beware of the scams as well. Here are some tips for finding legitimate work-at-home jobs on Craigslist.org:

1) Start with a city near you and enter “work at home” (in quotes) or “Telecommute” (without quotes) into the search option. On the drop down list choose “Jobs“. Click the > button to start your search.

2) To narrow your search down further, on the results page click the box that says “Telecommute” underneath the keyword search term box. This may end up removing some jobs that can be done at home that weren’t labeled telecommute. But it eliminates the results that say “No work-at-home“. If you don’t have many results, unclick the “Telecommute” box and click the search again. You’ll have more results, but you’ll need to read the content to make sure it doesn’t say “No work-at-home“.

3) If any of the jobs in the list ask for money to get started or involve envelope stuffing, email processing, or using your personal bank account to help the company do business, ignore it. In fact, you can use the button at the top of the page to report it to Craigslist.org.

4) Any announcement that says “Typing“, “Data Entry” or “Clerical” should be considered suspect. You can look at it, but use a critical eye as these job types are usually scams.

5) Although many jobs require you to live locally, many can be done anywhere. So consider doing job searches in other cities. Start with cities near you, then search other cities in your state. Search large cities throughout the United States as well.

6) Do your due diligence when researching companies and replying to jobs. The only one screening jobs on Craigslist.org is you. So while there are many great opportunities posted, it’s up to you to protect yourself from the scams.

Don’t let the fear of scams stop you from using Craigslist.org to find legitimate work-from-home jobs. Learn about scams first so you can weed out the duds from the viable telecommuting options.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Leslie Truex is the author of The Work-At-Home Success Bible (Adams Media). She has been telecommuting and running home businesses for over 15 years and helping others to work at home in jobs or home businesses since 1998. Get work-at-home jobs and other resources with her free newsletter at http://www.workathomesuccess.com.

Listening is THE most important communication skill. It is essential in a marriage, as a parent and in the business world! Most people are too busy thinking about what they are going to say next to pay much attention to what the other person is saying. However, merely listening to the words that someone says will only give you about 7% of the meaning!

It’s not easy to “Be still and know that God is God.” God calls upon us to trust that He’s in control, but it’s difficult, at best, when life is raging out of control. When we’re “being still,” we assume that means doing nothing. But nothing could be farther from the Truth. Though waiting patiently for God, in stillness, is probably the most difficult thing about our walk of faith, it is also the most critical part of it.

We can’t be tempted to panic when God isn’t showing up when we think He should. And we can’t allow ourselves to despair when He doesn’t do what we thought He would. God’s ways are higher, and they’re also better (see Isaiah 55:8-8). Yet, it takes a journey of faith with God to even begin to believe that Truth. These times of uncertainty are opportunities for God to reveal himself to you to a greater degree and grow your faith in ways that you can’t imagine. God is continually searching the earth for people who will trust Him through every crisis and cling to Him alone in every hopeless situation. Though it’s hard for us to come to grips with, God himself is often the One who leads us into, or allows us to face situations that are beyond our control. The situations are often frightening and overwhelming, to say the least. But, God does so in order to grow our faith—He leads us into these situations to see if we have a faith that stands and trusts in Him completely. In our moments of despair, it’s through His still small voice that we hear Him shouting through our megaphone of pain:

“Be still, and know that I am God.”
Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

God allows the hard places in our life to alert us to our need for Him. Our struggles are tools in the hands of God, as He works to make our heart more like His. Everything He does is to produce faith in us. And through the process, He promises never to abandon us (see Hebrews 13:5).

You may be at a Red Sea in your life. You may be facing the unthinkable: there’s no way of escape, nowhere to run, and no place to hide. You may be up against circumstances that seem insurmountable even for God. But, He’s moved bigger mountains than the ones you’re facing and He’s calmed greater seas than the ones that are threatening to take you under. Nothing is too difficult for God (see Luke 1:37).

God is giving your faith an opportunity to grow. He’s producing a faith in you that stands and will cause you to be ready for anything—lacking in nothing (see James 1:4). He’s brought you into these situations so you can practice your faith, so that you might know where you stand with God. Though you’re tempted to fear, in God’s strength you can stand still and watch His deliverance (see 2 Chronicles 20:17). It is God that will part your Red Sea, it is the Lord that will rescue you from the lion’s den, and it is Him alone that will be with you and protect you in the furnace of affliction. He will be your strength when you’re too weak to carry on. You need only be still:

“In quietness and in trust shall be your strength . . .”
Isaiah 30:15 NASB

We can’t try and figure it all out . . . we must simply take our position of faith in the face of all our fears. We may not know what to do, but God does; if we’ll keep our eyes upon Him, He’ll save us while we rest, as we stand in faith upon His Promises.

As you struggle with doubt in the midst of your faith, God urges you to stand still in your crisis, lean on Him in faith, and trust Him to see you through. Be determined, against all odds to be found in the end with “faith that stands.” Trust God—be still—no matter what.

This week I’m at a convention—on the other side of the country.  As I unpacked my carryon I realized all the gadgets I brought—IPhone, Blue Tooth, laptop, slider, (I Pad wannabe), IPod, camera –plus the power cords. No wonder my brain cells feel fried.

A study by the Institute of Psychiatry found that too much technology can reduce our IQ level by several points. It makes sense. If we’re honest we would have to admit that it’s tough to concentrate well on more than one thing at a time. When we try to multi-task we have to switch gears for each task and then back again. Doing so complicates things and leads to stress and errors.

It’s hard to love others when you’re focusing too many things at once. Have you ever typed or read a message on your computer while talking on the phone? Or `ignored or half-listen to your kids while you kept doing tasks? How can we love when we’re not focused on the other person?

How easy it is to tune out people or to second guess what they will say. As Dietrich Bonheoffer said, “There is a kind of listening with half an ear that presumes already to know what the other person has to say. This impatient, inattentive listening really despises the other Christian and finally is only waiting to get a chance to speak and thus to get rid of the other.”

Jesus didn’t multi-task but stayed focused on what He needed to do. When the woman touched Him in the crowd He knew immediately that power had left Him. He didn’t keep going, but stopped and focused His attention on the woman who needed healing. We can imitate Jesus by stopping and giving our full attention to others.

To remind me to slow down and focus on one thing at a time my husband had a large wooden plaque made for me with the following passage:

Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.
Ecclesiastes 4:6

Learning to slow down, take one thing at a time, and stop boasting in my multi-tasking, has helped me love my family and those I serve in my career more.  When I find myself distracted and not finishing a task, I stop and complete the first task before going to the next. It makes things so much more peaceful and I accomplish a lot more. Granted I will probably always talk on the phone while doing dishes—but then how many brain cells do you need to do the dishes? But when the conversation starts getting serious I find myself stopping to concentrate on the words of the person on the other end. Isn’t that what Jesus did—he stopped and loved the other person. After all isn’t the entire gospel summed up in one thing—love?

The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Galatians 5:14