How Nonprofits Can Get Donated Software

By Montrie Rucker AdamsApril 3, 2013 Blog donated software, techsoup

Are you a nonprofit on a budget? Not enough money for office software, computers, peripherals, etc.? If your organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit or library, you probably qualify for donated software and other technology from top brands such as Microsoft, Intuit, Adobe, and Cisco. Donations are from more than 40 TechSoup donor partners.

Visit this page to How to Join and How to Get Donations. TechSoup is not a product reseller our outlet. All products are generously discounted or donated by TechSoup partners in support of the nonprofit community.

Visit their “Get Product Donations” page to browse the 450+ technology product donations available to nonprofits and libraries through TechSoup.

Check it out. You maybe able to receive free or nearly free products that can be very beneficial to your organization or library.

How an Enterprising Author Sold a Million Self-Published Books

By Montrie Rucker AdamsApril 1, 2013 Blog authors, self-publish

I have to admit, when I first saw this blog’s title, I had to read it. It took me back to high school when I wrote It’s About Time. It was a short story for a school project. It was at that moment that I knew that one day I would be a “best-selling author.”

The path to that title has had its twists, turns, stops and starts. I get my almost “best-selling author” fix from writing for a magazine and running a public relations business. This article gave me the additional push I needed to dust off the novel I began over ten years ago and make plans to complete it.

As mentioned, I can see how all seven strategies work for the million seller author and the entrepreneur. The most valuable takeaways for me: Mine your experience – I never thought that my life was any different from anyone else’s, but it is, Put in the hours – when the creative juices start flowing, the sun comes up and it’s hard to stop, Be generous – Be More Visible is a free pocket book (also in ebook version). Let me know you want one, and it’s yours and Accelerate when you build momentum.

Read how CJ sold millions and let me know what you think…

Don’t Burn the Candle at Both Ends

By Montrie Rucker AdamsMarch 29, 2013 Blog 1 Comment

Starting and running your own business can be very challenging. Many people think that they need to work around the clock, 24/7. That’s not true and, to be honest, it’s not good for you or your business.

Some people say, “There really isn’t enough time in a day.” Really, there is. You just need to plan out each day to make sure there is work/life balance.

Burning the candle at both ends can burn you out. There’s nothing worse than being self-employed and bored with your own business. It can happen if you are living and breathing your business each and every second of the day. If you are, you need a break.

Here are a few tips:

Go sit somewhere quiet, let your mind relax and just think. Think about what’s really important and go from there. You may have worked a regular nine to five job for someone else. Why not work your own business nine to five. Find an “end point” for your day and stop there. If one of Facebook’s top executive Sheryl Sandburg can be home for dinner everyday, so can and should you. If your son’s basketball game is at 6pm – go! Don’t say, “I have too much work to do.” STOP, go… and enjoy yourself and your family. Believe it or not, it will all be there when you go back to work at 9am. And, who knows… you may have left a problem behind, that you found an answer to while you were out enjoying yourself. Take it from those who have looked back with regret and said, “I wish I had spent more time with my family.” You don’t want to be that person.
Schedule work on your calendar from nine to five and nothing business-related after that. Of course there may be a few exceptions, hosting a business executive for dinner or celebrating a co-worker’s going away party. As a rule, cut the work at five – or a time that works best BEFORE seven.
Create a “to-do” list each day so you will know from where to begin the next day.
Delegate. For the control freaks, this may be a hard one, but one that is necessary. Let someone else take over a few of the “to-do” items. Free yourself from the tactical work and work on strategy. In the end, you will have more rather than fewer hours.

Your brain and your business needs time to relax. Everything not done today, will be there tomorrow waiting for your fresh eyes and rested mind.

A happy owner makes a happy business…and probably a prosperous one too.

Three Tips for Branding Your Growing Business

By Montrie Rucker AdamsMarch 27, 2013 Blog branding, entrepreneur, marketing

Branding…the new buzz word for business.

What does it really mean to “brand” your business?

There are a lot of ways to brand your business. In this video from Entrepreneur Online, Branding Specialist Erika Napoletano offers advice on how to get your customers to see you and your business as the solution to their problems.

Her three branding tips don’t talk about logos, taglines or colors. She says,

Know why you do what you do
Know who you would never work with
Stay true to yourself and be you…everyone else is already taken

These are all easy for me. I started Visibility Marketing Inc. because I enjoyed doing exactly what the tagline says, “making you more visible.” It may sound like a cliché, but it’s true. It began simple enough, with writing positive feature articles. The feedback I received let me know that there was a hunger, a market out there where people wanted a reprieve from the negative stories they often hear and read about. They wanted to read about the positive people and the positive things there were doing to make this world better.

Early in my career, one of my first customers was the epitome of number two. I learned a lot from him. Most importantly, I can now easily identify the people I will never work.

Lastly, before I signed the papers for VMI, I read about, paid attention and listened to many entrepreneurs. I still do. I am a lifelong student of business and will always be. However, I know that though I’ve learned a lot from others, I can never be like them. I can only be me. It’s the only me I can be. I’ve learned to be dynamic, with the ability to change when necessary, make critical decisions and a lot of mistakes. As in life, business is cyclical, it has its ups and downs. Hang in there long enough and you will experience more ups in your entrepreneurial journey.

Big “ups” to you as you continue to forge your way to branding you.

Cameras and Twitter…The New Weapons of Choice

By Montrie Rucker AdamsMarch 26, 2013 Blog media, mobile cameras, mobile devices, top stories, twitter, women developers

Here’s the scenario: You are sitting at a business conference chit-chatting with a business colleague about something between the “boys.” Someone in front of you overhears your conversation, takes offense, shoots you and your friend (with her cell phone camera), tweets your photo with a comment about you and your friend’s conversation and now, your career is dead (hers too).

What was not expected was how quickly the tweet went viral, that it would get back to your boss and that you would lose the job you love because unbeknownst to you, you violated the conference’s Code of Conduct. You’re not sure you even read it.

The shooter and twitterer didn’t see her pink slip coming either.

This scenario actually happened last week between Adria Richards, developer evangelist at SendGrid and developer Alex Reid of PlayHaven. To read the full story, click here…

Big Brother is here and watching your every move. With cameras on every cell phone, it’s hard to get away from Big Brother. What bothers me is that we’re not safe anywhere. Where are the rights of the individual who just happens to have a yuk-em-up conversation with friends?

Now, I’m not defending Mr. Reid. He and his friend should have carefully chosen their words. However, I’m wondering if Ms. Richards, warned the two that they were offending her. From the article, it seems she just turned around, pointed, shot and tweeted.

There are many lessons in this scenario. A few are:

Always be on your best behavior on company time…no matter where you are.
Always read, read and read again your company’s and any other’s participation agreement. Apparently, these Codes of Conduct are taken seriously.
Always be on your best behavior, period.
Big Brother is always watching…

Do I think anyone should have been fired? No. Everyone should at least get one warning. This social media world in which we now live is so new. We’re all getting used to it.

The age-old sexism issue that Ms. Richards cried is real and may be growing stronger. From the looks of the photo, she was out-numbered. Hers is a field where few women dare to tread. Is it because of sexism? Ms. Richards had a right to be offended. She had a right to voice her discomfort. But, did she have the right to take a photo of Mr. Reid and tweet it without his permission?

What do you think?

What is a D-U-N-S Number?

By Montrie Rucker AdamsMarch 22, 2013 Blog dun & bradstreet, duns number, government contracting, sba, small business administration

The SBA is a useful resource for small businesses. If there is an office in your area, please take advantage of their services. If meeting face-to-face is difficult, peruse the information they have available online.

Before you can bid on government proposals, you need to obtain a Dun & Bradstreet, or D-U-N-S, Number. This is a unique nine-digit identification number for each physical location of your business. D-U-N-S Number assignment is free for all businesses required to register with the federal government for contracts or grants.

What do I need to get my D-U-N-S Number?

When registering for your D-U-N-S Number, you will need the following on hand:

Legal name
Headquarters name and address for your business
Doing Business As (DBA) or other name by which your business is commonly recognized
Physical address, city, state and ZIP Code
Mailing address (if separate from headquarters and/or physical address)
Telephone number
Contact name and title
Number of employees at your physical location
Whether you are a Home-Based Business

How do I get my D-U-N-S Number?

Good news! Getting your D-U-N-S Number is easy. Visit D-U-N-S Request Service to obtain more detailed instructions on applying for your D-U-N-S Number.

Also, see the FAQs for obtaining a D-U-N-S Number and visit Central Contractor Registrations (CCR).

For more information about the D-U-N-S Number, click here for a downloadable document.

Customer Loyalty: Simple Ways to Win Them Over

By Montrie Rucker AdamsMarch 20, 2013 Blog customer loyalty, customers, rieva lesonsky, sba, sba.gov, small business administration

Do you receive the Sunday newspaper? Where I live, the Sunday newspaper is filled with news and feature articles. It also has an abundance of sales advertisements and coupons. Wal-Mart, KMart, Target… they have the same three products on sale. Which store do you choose?

There is a one-dollar coupon for Wal-Mart, which is closer to your home. You have a 99-cent coupon for KMart, but they have double coupon day. Then the kicker is Target – if you buy four of this product – which is on sale cheaper than the other two – you will also receive a five-dollar gift card at the register.

On yesterday’s SBA.gov blog, guest blogger Rieva Lesonsky is CEO and President of GrowBiz Media discussed “Creating Customer Loyalty Programs.” Some of the ways she mentions are:

Distribute rewards cards
Offer discount programs
Give a gift
Create a VIP program
Hold events
Use mobile apps
Get personal

If you are looking for a way to get and keep loyal customers, you must be very creative in the way you market to them. You also must think of ways to reward them for their loyalty. In doing so, they will share their commitment with family and friends, which can create new customers for you.

Click here to see “Creating Customer Loyalty Programs and let me know what you think… – http://www.sba.gov/community/blogs/creating-customer-loyalty-programs.

Take Advantage of Editorial Calendars and Media Kits

By Montrie Rucker AdamsMarch 18, 2013 Blog advertisements, editorial calendars, media kits, promotions

Publications use editorial calendars to plan the content of their issues. They are also helpful for writers and public relations professionals who want to pitch stories. Companies often use the calendar to determine the best time to advertise in the publication.

An editorial calendar or media kit, is a list of upcoming issues, which details the theme, and planned features. For example, the spring issue may feature weddings or Easter, while the winter may feature Christmas, winter sports or the best vacations for the snowbound.

Most publications make the editorial calendar available to the public. In doing your research, you may find that some do not offer electronic versions – they ask that you submit your request and they will email it to you. For the most part, you can easily find editorial calendars by visiting their website. Look for links or tabs that say, “Editorial Calendar” or “Media Kit.”

Media Kits are full of other useful things such as:

Information on the Editor-in-Chief
Circulation information – this can help you determine your costs
Reader demographics – this can help you determine if this is the right audience
Promotions
Advertising rates
Dimensions and specs – for ad space
Contract and regulations
Closing dates
Direct response rates

Using the editorial calendars and media kits can help you plan your advertising campaign and your budget.

Can You Backup Your “Green” Claims?

By Montrie Rucker AdamsMarch 15, 2013 Blog environment, ftc, green claims, green guides, green marketing

Even Kermit the Frog knows it’s not easy being green. It’s also not easy touting your green products if the claims are not verifiable.

If you’re making claims about the environmental benefits of your products, you must back them up with competent and reliable scientific evidence. The FTC’s Green Guides explain how truth-in-advertising principles apply to your green claims.

http://business.ftc.gov/multimedia/videos/green-guides

TED: Winners of “Ads Worth Spreading”

By Montrie Rucker AdamsMarch 13, 2013 Blog Ads Worth Spreading, design, entertainment, technology, TED

If you aren’t familiar with TED, it is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading in the areas of Technology, Entertainment and Design. It was started as 1984 as a conference and they now have two annual conferences, among many across the world.

The “Ads Worth Spreading” challenge is an initiative to find ads that communicate ideas with consumers in the same way that TED wants to communicate with its audience.

The Crowd – by Glaxosmithkline
Meet the Super Humans – by Channel 4
Security Cameras – by Coca Cola
Three Little Pigs – by The Guardian
Daily Dose of Drama – by TNT
The Farmer – by Dodge Ram
Dumb Ways to Die – by Melbourne Metro Rail
Find Your Understanding – by Expedia
Follow the Frog – by Rainforest Alliance
Annie – by Dell

These ads are great! I have my favorites but I won’t tell you which ones they are. I don’t want to spoil it for you.
Watch them here and tell me your favorites.

[Montrie – here is the link to this – http://www.ted.com/aws so you can read and watch more.]

Give yourself a branding overhaul

By Montrie Rucker AdamsMarch 11, 2013 Blog branding, email, slogan, social media, tagline, website

Do you need a branding overhaul? Does your branding really showcase who you are and what you offer? Now is the time to sit back and see how “visible” you are to yourself – you are the customer.

A lot of people think branding is just creating a logo, having business cards and a website. But what do these things really say about you.

Branding is a big package and in it should be all the things representative of you, your style, your products and services. So… if you are the customer, how do you feel about these things?

Business documents

How do you look on paper? If you are the customer, can you appreciate the materials you hand out? Is your logo and artwork aesthetically pleasing and visible on your business cards, stationery, envelopes, brochures, and other business documents? Are they well written and clearly defines who you are and the services you provide.

Will you communicate electronically? Do you have electronic versions of your paper products?

Your Email

Do you have an electronic business card you can place in your footer? If not, have you set up your Automatic Signature that appears after your email (i.e., your name, company name, address, telephone numbers, website and email address)?

Your Website

Review your website. Is your logo and artwork appropriately placed and visually pleasing? Other things to look for:

Do you have a tagline, slogan or catch-phrase that helps to reinforce your message?
Does it say who you are, what you do, what products and services you provide?
What about client testimonials…ones that can provide credibility to you and your business.
Do you have a way to share news, tips and other relevant information such as a blog?
Do you have a way for your visitors to share your information such as Share Buttons?
Do you have photos of past events, workshops, client projects?

Your Social Media Accounts

All of your social media accounts should have your logo, tagline and other relevant artwork, and color scheme. Different accounts give you different ways to customize your information.

Facebook Business Page – allows you to add a Logo and Cover Image.
Google+ – allows you to add a Logo and Cover Image
Twitter Business Account – allows you to add your logo, a header image, a custom background and use custom colors.
LinkedIn – allows you to add your company profile and use your logo.

Be consistent. Use the same images cross all social media accounts.

You should also be sure to create an account with a similar name as your business or tagline.

These are just a few of the important things to review during your branding overhaul. Make a weekend of it. Who knows… you may look one way on Friday and look a better way on Monday!

Once you’re finished, let me know what you think.

A happy owner makes a happy business…and probably a prosperous one too.

Branding…the new buzz word for business.

What do I need to get my D-U-N-S Number?

How do I get my D-U-N-S Number?