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Girl, there are 3 things that you MUST to have to consider yourself in business.  Before I tell you what the 3 things are let me say this, sisters will get themselves some business cards printed up in a hot minute but a business card with only a phone number and a yahoo, hotmail or Gmail email address screams “rookie” or “hobbyist.”  It certainly does not scream “business owner,” “entrepreneurial diva,” etc.  Also, the 3 things I am about to share are free – no cost – nada, except for one and it’s under $20! So here are the 3 things you need to be considered ‘in business:’

1.    You don’t have a functioning website, you are not in business.

One of my greatest pet peeves is for a woman to tell me she has a business and when I ask her for her website address, she gives me the “deer caught in headlights” look or she flashes a sheepish grin and says, “I don’t have a website yet; it’s too expensive and I don’t know how to build a website.  I can’t afford to pay anyone to build a website.”

No more of this foolishness!  If you can type in Microsoft Word, you can create a website – for FREE!  Think you can’t afford to get a website?  You can’t afford not to! 

The 3 free website companies are:  Weebly.com, Blinkweb.com & Yola.com.  I have built websites using all 3! 

A part of the website – a CRITICAL part of the website is a proper domain name.  Do not, I repeat do not; use a domain name for your business that is attached to one of the free website builders I mentioned above! Domain names can be purchased from Godaddy.com for $11.99 for a year! 

Psst – check this out, Godaddy is having a sale right now and you can get a domain name for $9.99 for a limited time!  You spend more than that having your hair and nails done and getting your hair and nails done is not taking you one step further to wealth.  Get a domain name for goodness sakes and hurry up because the longer you wait the less chance you have of getting a dot com or getting the name you want.  Click here to purchase a domain name from Godaddy.com.  If you want to purchase it somewhere else, by all means do so.  I don’t care where you purchase it from; just buy it!

2.    You don’t have a way to collect payment from people, forget about it!  What the heck?  Go and yourself a Paypal account.  It is free for goodness sakes.  You can get a merchant account later if you like but go get the Paypal account now!  Click here to get a Paypal account.

3.    You don’t have a way to collect contact information from people who visit your website.  This same ‘something’ will allow you to communicate regularly with your target market.  What I am speaking of is a newsletter.  If you are not ready or able to commit $9.95 a month for the iContact newsletter service I use, then try one of the great free services:  Mailchimp.com (the Forever Free plan) or  Tinyletter.com (I think they are connected to Mailchimp somehow).

Be sure to drop me a line and let me know when you get it all in place and I'll be happy to drop by your website and give you a quick, complimentary critique.  Click here to email me when you have everything ready.

Are you moving toward the things you want or away from them? Here are ten tips that can help you create the life you desire.

1. Take some time to decide what you want (this isn't what parents, your boss or significant wants but what do YOU want?). You are guaranteed success if you can see what you want and move toward what you see. What is important to you? Who are you becoming? How will this desire serve others?

2. Use visual reminders of your desire. Get some magazines and cut out pictures related to your desire. Put them where you'll see them on a regular basis, like on your bathroom mirror, in your wallet, next to your computer screen, or on a poster board.  I have my pictures posted on the wall next to my bed so that the last thing I see at night and the first thing I see in the morning is the visual reminder of my desire.

3. Set clear goals with clear timelines. Write down what the goal is, how you will know when you have achieved it, and a date when you will have achieved it.

4. Take inspired action. When an opportunity presents itself that fits with your vision, respond to it immediately.  Don’t second guess yourself.  If you feel a leap in your spirit and you now that this opportunity fits in well with your desire, don’t wait, don’t hesitate – take the opportunity that is presented to you.

5. Raise your energy level by focusing on two things: 1) Ways you can view this project as fun and enjoyable 2) Viewing the end product; once you finish this project, what wonderful benefits will you reap?

6. Help your mind help you by filling it with reading that will inspire and move you forward toward the life of your dreams. Read books, listen to audio programs, and watch videos that educate, motivate, uplift and inspire you. Go to seminars (live or virtual) related to your desire. Gain great inspiration from reading about people who have overcame everything to be successful doing or being what you desire to do or be.

7. Get out of the way.  Fear makes us afraid to step out of our comfort zone; even if doing so guarantees that we will soar and enjoy great success.  Nothing great is ever achieved within one’s comfort zone.  Get out of your own way and allow yourself – force yourself to move out of your comfort zone.  Moving past your comfort zone may seem risky but the success you are bound to find outside of your comfort zone makes the risk worthwhile.  Iyanla Vanzant autographed one of her books for me and here is what she wrote (in 1995):  "Carmin, get out of the way and let God bless you!"  I didn't know what it meant then but I sure do now!

8. Seek the support of others.   You can find wonderful support among your current friends and family.  You can also join online groups that involve people just like you who are desire a life similar to yours.  You can also hire a personal coach or a business coach. Find a mentor, online or offline. If you can afford it, hire an accountant, a fitness trainer, a nutritionist, a counselor - whoever you think will honestly support you, give needed advice and feedback.  Being accountable to another person can make a great difference is moving forward or remaining stagnant.

9. Consistently review your top three desires/goals. Write down your top three goals/desires and read them every day so they remain at the front of your mind. This will give you the energy you need and will help you focus your attention on what matters during your day. Reviewing these desires/goals daily, sometimes several times a day will also help you identify when a presented opportunity is in line with your desires/goals. 

10. Intend that your desires/goals benefit others as well as yourself. When you help others, you will experience a powerful surge of energy.  This surge will push you forward to realizing your desires/goals.  Even the richest people in the world need to have a passion and cause to fuel them.  Why do you think so many wealthy individuals start foundations?  

Please feel free to use this article in your newsletter, on your website or blog.  However, the following byline must be included in its entirety and the article must not be edited in any form and must be presented exactly as it appears here.

 About the Author:

Carmin Wharton is a home-based business expert and the founder of e-BlackWomenNetwork.com, a membership community designed to take businesses owned by women of color from startup to prosperity. Carmin's mission is to help women earn what they're worth and make it big in their home-based business on their own terms.

One of the first things you must understand when starting a home-based business is that you don’t have to pay a lot of money to become a strong, viable and established home-based business.  There was a time when home-based business owners went out of their way to make their company appear to be a large corporation.  People rented executive suites and conference rooms to meet with clients just to give the appearance of “corporate.”  Times have changed and whereas ten years ago, a home-based business may have had negative connotations associated with it, not any more – it’s a new day!  Nowadays, when you tell people “I’m a home-based business owner selling ….” people stop and take notice. 

Technology has advanced to the point that you can become a millionaire out of the comfort of your home.  And what’s really great is that many of the tools you will need to start your home-based business owner are free.   Of course, as your business grows, you will incur expenses – large and small but for now just to get started, I have included some solid tools and resources you can use for little or no money.

Legal Things

• 1.    Don’t spend money incorporating or forming an LLC (Limited Liability Company). Just start as a sole proprietor and move forward.   Don’t allow not having the money to “form” your business legally stop you from starting.  You can incorporate or form an LLC after you starting making money.  The exception to this is if your business is the type where you will immediately incur liability, i.e. office or house cleaning service. 

• 2.    In any event, you can get free legal advice from a retired lawyer and free financial advice from a retired CPA through Score.org.
• 3.    You can find legal (and any other kind) forms you need for free at Docstop.com, Gazhoo.com, or Scribd.com.

• 4.    If you decide at the beginning to give your business legal structure, by all means take advantage of a low cost option such as Legalzoom.com.

Getting a Website

• 5.    Do not pay a lot of money for a domain name.  There are still many great domain names available if your first choice is taken, get creative and come up with a domain name that will embody what your business purpose is.  You can see if the domain you want is available and buy your domain for less than $15 at Godaddy.com.

• 6.    Believe it or not, there is a company that will allow you to build 2 FREE websites without purchasing an upgrade.  This company has a funny name – Weebly.com but who cares what the name is. Of course, there are a few features that are only available with an upgrade but I can tell you this, I built the a website for the book I wrote and it was one of Weebly’s free website.  You can check it out here:  www.lovelessonslearned.com.
• 7.    If you simply cannot afford a domain name at this time, by all means don’t let this stop you from getting a website.  Until your finances improve, you can get a free website and not pay for a domain name at Weebly.com, Blinkweb.comor Webs.com.  These free website vendors also make it easy for you to upgrade your account so that you can purchase a domain name and other things to enhance your website when you are ready to do so.
• 8.    After you have your website up and running, you need to start marketing your website.  You have to help people who need or want what you are selling find your website.  To do this, you must submit your website to directories and search engines.  Many entrepreneurs pay a lot of money to have this done; corporations pay a lot of money to have this done.  You don’t have a lot of money so you will have to do this yourself.  Believe me – this works.  I know because I’ve spent countless nights and wee hours of the morning submitting my business websites to search engines and directories.  Quickregister.net will allow you (for free) to: submit your website to 300 major search engines, submit your article to numerous article directories and will allow you to submit your website to high traffic social bookmarking websites.  CAUTION:  you have to submit individually by hand and this is tedious but worth it. Break this task up into several days if you have to but do it. It will drive traffic to your website!

Quickregister.net also offers some very important free tools such as a tool which allows you to analyze your competitor’s website ranking in search engines, check your keyword density.  Research has proven that having the right keywords on your website will bring you targeted traffic – people looking to buy what you are selling.

• 9.    Educate yourself Search Engine Optimization (SEO) by visiting Webconfs.com.  By placing the right keywords in the content of your website, you greatly increase the chance that the people you are looking to sell to will find you.  This is very important and not hard to learn; you’ll know what you need to know in 15 minutes.
• Establishing Your Brand
• 10. One of the first things you should do after you have established your website is to get business cards and you should hand them out every where you go.  You can get 250 free business cards from VistaPrint.  Once you buy from VistaPrint, you will receive frequent emails of sales in which you can buy all kinds of marketing materials (postcards, car magnets, etc.) at low and or no cost (except for shipping which is cheap too).

• 11. FreeLogoServices.com will allow you to create a free logo and even try it out on your website and marketing materials. The resolution is low so you will eventually want to purchase the higher resolution logo.
• Accepting Payments
• 12. You don’t need the expense and hassle of trying to acquire a merchant account to accept credit card and check payments on your website.  Let the big boys in the field, Paypal and Google Checkout accept payments for you.  E-junkie is another great option and provides a shopping cart and buy now buttons to let you sell downloads and tangible goods on your website, eBay, CraigsList and anywhere else.

Marketing

• 13. One of the absolute best and free ways to market your business is to start writing articles and placing your articles in article directories.  The top dogs in this area are Ideamarketers.com and Ezinearticles.com.  Why write articles?  Two reasons; one, you will drive traffic to your website because you will include your website address in your resource box at the bottom of your article which tells people your name and what you are selling.  The second reason is by writing articles you are establishing yourself as an expert.
• Generating Income
• 14. The number one way to generate income even while you are sleeping is to create information products and you should create them in as many forms as possible.  You should create e-books, CDs, MP3 downloads and videos which educate your target market. 

Audio can help you generate money in two ways:

• ·         First, research has proven that when you have an audio greeting on your website, people will hang around longer on your website, they will sign up for your newsletter and eventually will become a customer a lot sooner because they feel as if they have connected with an actual person; audio allows your personality and sincerity to shine through.
• ·         Second, you can create information products such as CDs and MP3s and you can also generate podcasts, which if you keep adding them and keep them fresh, people will have something to look forward to and will return to your website.

To create audio (CDs, MP3s) you can use Audacity, a free audio recorder and editor.  All you need is a computer microphone which you can purchase from Wal-Mart or Target for $10.  Audacity is very easy to use and the instructions are very easy to understand.  You can video to greet website visitors or to educate your target market.  Eyejot is free and you can use it to post a video to your website or to send video emails. 

Jing can be used to take screen shots and record video of your computer screen which can be used in educational videos for your target market.  Did I mention that it’s free?

Want to use this article on your website, blog or in your newsletter?  You can but make sure the following byline is included in its entirety and the article must not be edited in any form and must be presented exactly as it appears here.

About the Author:

Carmin Wharton is a home-based business expert and the founder of e-BlackWomenNetwork.com, a membership community designed to take businesses owned by women of color from startup to prosperity. Carmin's mission is to help women earn what they're worth and make it big in their home-based business on their own terms.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, one definition for the word "independent" is:

Showing a desire for freedom.

Wow. 

Today is the 235th birthday of our county.  How about joining me in a pact, an agreement if you will, that 235 days from now - that would be February 24, 2012 - that your life and your business will look more like what you dream it to be?

Is your desire for freedom from a boring, dead-end, energy-draining J.O.B. (just over broke) strong enough to make you decide what you want, write down what you want (your goals), ask God for what you want, believe that God heard your request and then take action to make it happen?

Who wants to join me in the "Desire For Freedom" movement?