10 Bible Verses Every Small Business Owner Needs

I found the below blog post and I love it. Each of the verses really speaks to me on a personal and professional level. Happy Reading :)

As a Christian and a family focused entrepreneur, I believe that faith is a key ingredient in small business success. In this current economy, the people of God must remember that if you honor God through your business he will direct your path.
Each year, I pick a bible verse as my theme for the New Year. As I considered which bible verse would guide me in 2010, I thought it would be helpful to share some of my favorites. Use these bible verses in the good and tough times in your small business.
1. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) Learn something every day. If you only lean on your own knowledge in your business, you will not be able to grow. You must grow yourself to grow your business.
2. “Behold, I am doing something new! It’s already happening; don’t you recognize it? I will clear a way in the desert. I will make rivers on dry land.” Isaiah 43:19 (GOD’S WORD® Translation) Sometimes your business will need to move as the market pulls you in a different direction. You might need to reinvent your business, and you should not be afraid. God’s always got your back.
3.”Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6 (NIV) One of the most important things you can do for your business is to pray every day.
4. “Faith without works is dead.” James 2:26 (KJV) You can’t just pray for success. Develop a plan and work your plan. If you can do something about your situation, then do it. Stop making excuses, stop procrastinating, and do it!
5. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (NIV) There will be contracts that you really need that you will not win. There will be days when you drop the ball on your customer service, but you can not let that define you or your business. You will get another opportunity and even if you don’t, God is with you always.
6. “As I think in my heart, so am I.” Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV) Your thoughts can be your number #1 asset or your biggest liability. When you are alone in your office or back bedroom, your thoughts can easily turn on you. Your ability to stay positive, learn from all experiences and shake off mistakes quickly will be a big asset to you and your business.
7. “God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love and sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) Making decisions in your small business based on fear is never helpful. For that matter making decisions in anger is not good either. Try hard not to be reactionary with clients, vendors or employees. Use factual information and up-to date financials to make sound business decisions.
8. “But these things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day.” Habakkuk 2:3 (TLB) You need to understand that God’s time is not your time. There may come a time in your business when you just know you have a contract, one that you really need and things fall through. Those are the times when you need to trust in the Lord the most. When we accept God’s timing, we can learn to live in hope and enjoy our lives while God is working on our problems.
9. “Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding;” Proverbs 3:13 (NIV) You need to be a life long learner in order to be successful in business. You should constantly seek to improve yourself and increase your knowledge about the business of running a business.
10. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NIV) This is my new bible verse for 2010. It came to me watching a college football game. I believe I was only watching the game to see it.Remember, whether you are religious or not you can always pray about your business.

Special Shout out to Joyce Meyer Ministries for her book The Secret Power of Speaking God’s Word which gave me guidance for this post and to Pastor F.L. Anderson who gave me some biblical wisdom for this article. Read his blog http://www.flanderson.com/.Do you have a special bible verse that has helped you in your business? Please leave a comment and tell me about it.WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:Melinda Emerson “SmallBizLady“, is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Expert and Social Media Coach who hosts #Smallbizchat on Twitter. #Smallbizchat is the trusted resource on Twitter to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business. Melinda’s first book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 months. A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business that Works will be released by Adams Media in March 2010.

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Can You Digg it?

Social Media is changing daily just as the Internet does. It's so hard to keep up on the newest trends and websites. On the other hand its so important to stay up to date and knowledgeable.

One popular new site is Digg.com

Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. Such a valuable tool when it comes to marketing your blog or web page!

Here's the gist of it... Articles, blog post, how to guides, breaking news, off beat stories all can be published to Digg.com. Then readers have the chance to Digg (positive voting) or Dugg (negative voting) on the published post. The more people that Digg that post means the higher ranking it has and the more likelihood that that posting will make its way to the front page of Digg.com.

3 Tips to Become Good at Digging it:

1. Spend time daily becoming friends with others in the Digg community.


2. Spend time reading and voting on those friends stories.


3. Study Digg to define what makes stories popular so you can recreate that likeness on your own blog posts.

By keeping up with the above 3 steps you'll gain a reputation within the community and therefor others will want to promote your stories that you post in the Digg.com community.

Happy Digging!

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Let's Be BOLD

Boldness is BEHAVIOR born out of BELIEF!

Are you Bold? When was the last time someone was Amazed by Your Boldness? On a scale from 1-10 where would you rank yourself on being Bold?

Not Bold Very Bold

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

It's often hard to characterize ourselves as being Bold. When you look up the word Boldness in the dictionary it says: outspokenness, assurance, courage, confidence; to act without fear.

Today I read Acts 4:8. It's amazing how my Bible was marked there as I opened it. In Acts 4:8 it describes a time of true BOLDNESS from Peter. It amazes me how the Holy Spirit filled him and allowed him to be Bold. I want that kind of boldness! I want to be Bold in my Faith, for my husband and children, in my business and to serve others.

I started my business in 2007, and I must say I was NOT a very bold person at that time, really in any area of my life. I was a mommy to one at that time, felt shy and timid and really didn't know where I was headed. Through the past 5 years I've really amazed myself at what I've learned. On my Boldness scale I would say I'm now sitting around a 5 with lots of room to grow and become even more Bold. And through my Boldness I hope to help others, serve them, enable them, enrich them.

Here are 4 steps to help you to Become Bold:

1. Time: Spend Time becoming Knowledgeable and researching.


2. Faith: As you spend Time becoming Knowledgeable you will gain Faith.


3. Boldness: Your faith will lead you to Boldness.


4. Results: And through your Boldness you will gain Results!

But you can't stop there once you have those Results. You must continue the circle of spending Time, gaining Faith that leads to Boldness and producing Results.

Let's all go out and be BOLD in what we Believe in.

Setting Goals = Achieving Goals

Goals in writing are dreams with deadlines. ~Brian Tracy

In life it's so important to have a vision as to where you want to be, where you see your life going, what you will and will not do. One of the best ways to create that vision is to set Goals. Both short term and long term goals enable you to get through your day to day living with success.

Let me give you an example of a short term goal with the SMART Goal Setting outline... "I WILL vacuum my living room before I have to go to town at 2:00 so the house will be clean when the kids get home from school."
My goal is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Bound!

Here is a work related example... I WILL follow up with all of my business partners by November 5Th to ensure they have all of their questions answered, needs met and have a clear understanding as to what our November promotion will provide for their families.

By Setting SMART Goals it turns the impossible into being Possible!

Here are 3 other ways to create goals:

1. Create a list of daily tasks to accomplish.

2. Create a Dream Board with photos and goals listed.

3. Use a day-planner/calendar to write goals down next to the date you would like to accomplish them.

There's no better time to set goals then NOW! I encourage you to take pen to paper, write them down, share with someone to keep you accountable and focus on the action rather then the end result.
Remember to stick with it and don't stop until you reach your goal!

What's in a Name?

Creating your own personal domain name is ideal when you own your own home business. This is a way for your niche market to find and connect with you. It also enables you to market yourself on the web as well as off line marketing with an ideal business feel.

How To Get a Domain Name?
You might ask yourself... "How do I create my own domain name?" It really is a simple task and one that should be done as soon as possible. There are many domain hosting sites on the web. One example is http://www.godaddy.com/ You can purchase your ideal domain name for as little as $9.99. Here are a few tips when picking your domain:

• Choose a .com rather than a .net, .us, .info! .com's are what comes to mind as a potential customer is searching, therefore allowing you to become more visible.



• Count how many characters are in your domain name. The shorter the better in my opinion. You want something short and catchy that will grab attention as well as fit on print ads and business cards with a professional look.



• Choose to allow your domain name to automatically renew each year to insure you will not lose it.

Once you own your domain be sure to link it to your site and give it a test run to ensure it is working properly. Take advantage of creating your domain today to better your business for tomorrow!

Whats Your Next Step?

Isn't Mapquest a fun site to visit? In a matter of seconds you can get directions to any place you might want to go.

If there we're a personal Mapquest.com where would You want to go? Maybe you would want to add time to build meaningful relationships. Maybe you would want to slow down to enjoy your children's childhood. Maybe you would like time to sit still and hear God when you pray. Maybe you would like to reach a certain goal with your home business or financial issues.

When you think of Mapquest.com you need more than a destination, you need a starting point as well. If you type in "Omaha, NE" as your destination but leave the starting spot blank you wont go anywhere. You'll be stuck!

To end up in your desired destination you need both a starting point; where you are now, and a destination; where you want to be.

So, where are you? What are your next steps to reach your destination? Unless you spend some time thinking about where you are, you can't possibly know which direction to move. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help you know where you are and where to start:

• What stand in the way of my being focused on your goal? (More time with your children, Time with God, achieving your business goals).


• How mindful am I?


• Where am I in regards to reaching my goal?


• Where do I want to be?

Moving towards your goal will take time. You don't have to figure out exactly how to get there or what stops you'll take on your route. But you do have to determine what direction you should start out it.

Got Stress?!?

We often think of stress as a black cloud that follows us around, waiting for it to open up the head gates and let the bad stuff down on us. When in fact stress is often self inflicted and we're the ones who set up the conditions in which it thrives in.

As busy Moms we often take on more than we can handle, overspend and by doing so we gain money worries, and we're so disorganized we can't find important papers or even our keys.


Here are a few things Stress causes:

• Lack of sleep or over sleeping.



• Unproductivity in life or even business related.



• Depression and/or short temper.

So what are some ways we can eliminate stress and therefore live higher quality lives with more productivity and sense of Success?

Identify Your Biggest Stressors: This may take some time to sit back and write down the things that trigger you to become stressed and unfocused.

Identify a Way to Cut Back on that Stress: Maybe the idea of making 7 dinner meals per week is a stress factor. An easy solution might be to plan 2 nights per week to eat out or to cook ahead.

Identify the Activities that are Most Important to You: By doing so you'll learn to focus on those tasks rather than all of the small stuff. And remember it's ok to say "NO" to things.

3 Steps To Make Today To Better Your Businss

Have you felt a void in your business and not sure what to do? Here are 3 easy steps that you can take today to help connect with others and enhance your business.

1. Start a blog! This is a must. Blogger and Wordpress both offer free blog templates. Your blog should provide a way for others to connect with you and see that you are a real person. Business content can also be shared there but make sure it is value driven.
   



2. Get a Twitter and Facebook account up and running. There are many tutorials that will explain how to link your blog, twitter and Facebook feeds together.
   



3. Educate yourself! The more knowledge you can obtain the more successful you'll be. With any home business trends change with the time. Just as the Internet has changed over the years. The importance is to keep up with the times and be a sought after business person.
   

Take the time to do these three steps today, You'll be glad You did Tomorrow!

17 Tips to Double Your Productivity in 14 Days by Robin Sharma

Robin Sharma is an amazing man, I love reading his articles and putting the information into action. This article grabbed my attention today because there are 17 simple steps that can improve your productivity in two weeks. And there not hard things to do yet can pertain to all walks of life.

1. Turn off all technology for 60 minutes a day and focus on doing your most important work.

2. Work in 90 minute cycles (tons of science is now confirming that this is the optimal work to rest ratio).

3. Start your day with at least 30 minutes of exercise.

4. Don't check your email first thing in the morning.

5. Turn all your electronic notifications off.

6. Take one day a week as a complete recovery day, to refuel and regenerate (that means no email, no phone calls and zero work). You need full recovery one day a week otherwise you'll start depleting your capabilities.

7. The data says workers are interrupted every 11 minutes. Distractions destroy productivity. Learn to protect your time and say no to interruptions.

8. Schedule every day of your week every Sunday morning. A plan relieves you of the torment of choice (said novelist Saul Bellow). It restores focus and provides energy.

9. Work in blocks of time. Creative geniuses all had 2 things in common: when they worked they were fully engaged and when they worked, they worked with this deep concentration for long periods of time. Rare in this world of entrepreneurs who can't sit still.

10. Drink a liter of water early every morning. We wake up dehydrated. The most precious asset of an entrepreneur isn't time - it's energy. Water restores it.

11. Don't answer your phone every time it rings.

12. Invest in your professional development so you bring more value to the hours you work.

13. Avoid gossip and time vampires.

14. Touch paper just once.

15. Keep a "Stop Doing List".

16. Get up at 5 am.

17. Have meetings standing up.

Stay Productive and Make Your Work Matter!

5 Steps to Nurture Your Home Business

Owning your own home business is an exciting yet challenging process at times. There are many tasks that need to be done daily to keep your business moving smoothly and increase growth.

1. You need to Market Your Business Daily On-Line. Businesses are now found online rather than the yellow pages. The internet is such a huge resource that needs to be tapped into on a regular basis to ensure that you are being seen. A few places to market daily...

Facebook
Twitter
Networking groups
Syndication groups
Free Classifieds

2. Knowledge is Power! Become knowledgeable in all areas of life including business is such an asset. This enables you to become more thorough, have a better sense of what your potential clients needs might be, as well as helping You to be a better speaker and to have more confidence.

3. Know what Your competition is doing. This doesn't mean you have to spy on them or undermine them by any means, this goes back to being knowledgeable. You can see where your competitions strengths and weaknesses are and how You can grow from them.

4. Stay in touch with your business partners. This is Key! Your business partners need to know that You are there for them and willing to assist them in whatever task may be at hand. It may a question about a new product that Your Company has come out with, marketing help or a personal pow-wow.

5. Treat Your Business as a Business and it will grow. Don't dabble! Be committed to the success of Your Business daily to ensure that you are moving forward in the right direction to become the best Leader and Business Woman that you know.

Start implementing these 5 steps to Your business, Not only will you have growth You'll also have Success!

Add a Personal Signature to Your Blog Post - for Blogger

I love personalization in a world of black and white text. One asset that I like is adding a personal signature to my blog posts. It's super simple and something that you can set up in the next 10 minuets.

• Go to www.MyLiveSignature.com Click on "Proceed" and then "Create Signature"


• My Live Signature will walk you through the steps of how to create your signature. There are so many to choose from so go with your gut instinct.


• I would recommend saving the final Signature of your choice on your Hard Drive of your computer as an Image. You can also click on "Want to use this Signature?" and you will be given a HTML code for you to use on your blog.


• Copy that HTML code and log into your blog.


• Click on "Settings" in your blog dashboard, then "formatting".


• Scroll down to the bottom where it says "post template" You will now paste your HTML code that you have just copied into this section.


• Next time you post a blog post your image (HTML code) will show up. Make sure you post above your Signature.

Happy Blogging :D

Top 10 Rules of being a Successful WAHM

1. Work, works! You must put the effort in to receive the benefits.


2. Don't "do" what your competition does, you'll be second best.


3. Educated yourself daily! You must be the best business person, mom, wife, leader that You CAN be.


4. Surround yourself with encouraging people who will lift you up and help you succeed.


5. Exercise regularly and be fit physically as well as mentally.


6. Develop a schedule and stick to it.


7. Become knowledgeable in areas that you normally would not pay attention to. This keeps your mind fresh.


8. Double your income, tripling your rate of learning. (Robin Sharma)


9. Put your family and relationship with God first, everything else will fall into place.


10. Improve yourself daily and become the best YOU.

5 Tips to Improve the Speed of Your Computer!

Is your computer running slow? Nothing worse in my opinion than trying to get some work done and my computer is lagging. Here are a few tips to help improve the speed of your computer.

1. Use an antivirus program on your computer to ensure you do not have a virus. There are free ones out there like http://www.avgfree.com/ that work well.


2. Delete un-needed photos and videos off of your computer that take up a large amount of space. I upload my photos on to sites like http://www.snapfish.com/ or http://www.shutterfly.com/ to ensure I have access to them but keep my computer clear.


3. Defrag your computer. You can do this by finding the Help and Support button on your computer and typing in the word "Defrag". It should supply you with a how-to.


4. Clear your browsing history. You'll do this by finding the Delete Browsing History button. Mine is found in the top right corner of my page under the Safety tab. I would recommend deleting your browsing history and cookies often.


5. Keep your updates updated! Simple enough right, it will improve your computers over all health and keep in functioning properly.

Hope that helps to keep your computer running properly!

If You want Milk don't wait for the Cow to back up to You!

We all have milk in our refrigerators, right? Well in order to get that milk you didn't sit around and wait for that cow to find her way to you in order to fill a jug. Think about that!

Be Proactive! In the same way you we're proactive to get your milk (or the dairy farmer was). You must take steps forward to reach your goals. Goals for your family and your business.

Do not expect to reach greatness if you do not do the work that is entitled to see that dream become a reality. You must be consistent, goal oriented, dedicated and willing to keep yourself held accountable. Think backwards - If you have a goal to earn a $500.00 pay-check before the end of the month you will need to know what it takes to earn that $500.00 pay-check. How many hours will you need to work or dedicate to your business, what activities will you need to do during those hours to make your goal a reality?

So don't sit there and dream about tomorrow unless your willing to make your dreams a reality!

A few things Every Mom should have on her Desk!

We all have some sort of desk, right? Well here are a few things I think every mom should have on her desk. Things that I don't think I could live without.

#1. My little bit of pretty! This candle just makes me feel good when I see it.









#2. As a mom I forget things frequently, lol, So I use my sticky notes often. And my pen... where would I be without it. Well at times I find my girls have all of the pens and I'm stuck with a color but it works.






#3. My Computer!!! I can see why people become addicted to cigarettes, I'm so addicted to my computer. I go through with drawls when I haven't seen it for a few hours.










#4. I never thought I would be so attached to my calendar but really I am. I like to highlight it, mark special things in it. Make notes about the day or appointments we have.





What are your favorite things to have on your desk? I love getting to see a sneak peek into others spaces! Cheers!!

1460 Days of Working from Home!

Today I'm celebrating 1460 days of working from home! 4 years ago I had been searching for a way to help bring in a little extra income for our family. At that time we had an 18 month old daughter and we we're expecting our second daughter.


I never imagined the blessing I would find. Sure the extra income has helped enormously through the past 4 years but more than that I've grown as a individual! I've been enabled to work with some extraordinary women who have enriched my life more than I ever thought possible.

That's 1460 days of hugs and kisses with my girls, having dinner ready for my husband when he gets home from work. 1460 days of growth. 1460 days of playing Barbies and working with great moms.

5 Ways to Market Your Website for Free

5 Tips on Microblogging

You might be asking what is Microblogging? Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr are all examples of microblogging. Microblogging is where you share events from your day, links, photos or tips with a short sentence. It differs from traditional blogging in the sense that your quickly sharing information to your audience.



Here are 5 tips on Microblogging:

• Update several times daily. By posting often you'll be building a following.


• When sharing information share 1/3 personal experiences, 1/3 informative, and 1/3 Business related.


• Link your Microblogs together to save time.


• Microblogging is about communicating. So ask questions and get your readers involved. Once your reader replies to a post be sure to respond back.


• Be authentic and keep the hype out of your posts. Readers want to see real experiences.

Microblogging is becoming such a tool for business builders of all walks of life. From large corporations to small home based businesses. So stake your claim and become known!

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If you would like to learn more about marketing follow me on Facebook and Twitter!

Consistency = Success

Isn't it amazing how children are so eager to try and try again. Take for example a baby that is learning to walk. That baby will first pull herself up, then she will stand and then she will take her first steps. Along the way she may fall but as she consistently trys over and over she will end up with the success of walking.

As adults we are often so eager for success that we forget the work that needs to be done before we can have that success. Consistency is key! By consistently doing the daily activities to improve ourselves we then find we've not just met our goals but passed them.

"Success is getting what you want. Happiness is liking what you get." ~Anonymous

Time Zone Help

 I work with people all over the United States and it amazes me that some folks out there don't know what time zone they live in. I've grown up right on the MST/CST zone my entire life - so is that why I'm aware of it? Or did one of my teachers do a really good job sharing the differences with me? I do agree though that it would be much easier if we we're all in the same time zone!


One thing I do love though is no matter what time zone one is in or state or city we all have things in common. I have a biz partner in SD who loves horses just like I do, a biz partner in MI who loves her MOPs group just like I do, a biz partner in TX who is a very strong Christian just like I am, a biz partner in OH who has 4 kids just like I do, and the very cool thing is that I get to work with these everyday Moms and somehow we make the time zone difference work!

New Your Attorney General Targets Supplements at Major Retailers in the US.

Herbal Supplements Flunk the Test; Don't Contain Herbs

 

Testing of herbal supplements sold by major retailers including Target and Walmart revealed that 79 percent have no trace of the herbs on the products' labels, according to an investigation by the New York State Attorney General Read more...