Weekend Entrepreneur:

Recently Gayl Murphy and I were talking about the mix between art, business and marketing and came up with a kick-butt seminar happening in Beverly Hills on Tuesday evening, September 23. It’s called Money-Making Business Strategies for Entertainment Industry Professionals.

Entrepreneurs use a skillful combination of business savvy and marketing know-how to make their businesses successful.

Artists and creative types don’t necessarily see themselves as entrepreneurs, because sometimes it’s so hard to know exactly how art, business and marketing mix. But they do . . . and when done successfully, the result is a killer combo you can take all the way to the bank.

If you are interested in the same profit-generating, cost-effective business skills and strategies that every successful entrepreneur must have to compete (and win) in this hyper-competitive, fluid marketplace . . . you won’t want to miss our seminar.

One of the most valuable marketing tools for the entertainment industry is navigating the media and creating outstanding messaging that “sticks” and gets the word out about who you are, what you do and what’s next.

This one-time only media seminar is targeted exclusively to professionals like you.

MASTER THE ART OF MEETING THE MEDIA
Here’s what you’ll learn:
* The four questions you will be asked every time you take a meeting.
* Money-making soundbites and pitches and why they’re so important, especially when the clock is ticking.
* How to translate your story into the language of “the media” so that it’s STICKY and MOVES FORWARD on it’s own.
* The art of successfully working with TV, radio, print and online press.
* How understanding “the X Factor” can help you win more clients and jobs.
* What makes all the difference in the world when it comes to marketing yourself, your product or service.
* Why old school communication doesn’t work and what you need to know to get decision-makers listening to you now!
* The five-simple must-have elements of an awesome elevator pitch (in person and when using social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter)
* The seven personal qualities leaders are automatically attracted to.
* The Law of Importance and how mastering it can further your career exponentially.

TO REGISTER ONLINE:
http://interviewtactics.com/sellyourselfseminars.htm

ABOUT YOUR SHOW-BIZ MEDIA EXPERTS:
GAYL MURPHY is an award-winning veteran Hollywood correspondent, media coach and consultant, speaker and the author of Interview Tactics: How to Survive the Media without Getting Clobbered! The Insider’s Guide to Giving a Killer Interview!

As a frequent correspondent and contributor to The BBC, SKY News and ABC News among others, Murphy has interviewed more than 14,000 celebrities and newsmakers–and she knows that working with the media is give-and-take . . . and that . . . you’ve got to pitch it to promote it, so you can tell it to sell it!

My bio can bee seen here on my blog (see About the Author on the upper right side of this page).

Can’t wait to see you there!

Cheers,

Michelle

Although we cannot verify whether God Twitters (yet), many of his followers at Westwinds Church in Jackson, Michigan, conduct weekend worship services in what they call Twitter Church. I would have never known this had I not spoken to internet marketing guru Dan Hollings the other day and asked about the Twitter craze. He’s one of the most entertaining people I’ve met in a long time. So much so that I wanted him to be a guest blogger and share some of his wisdom. He has insider tips that on-the-go entrepreneurs really need to know.

10 Great Ways To Twitter Your Life Away (for fun and profit) by Dan Hollings

You read a headline like this and you think, “Wait, Twitter My Life Away?” Why would I want to know 10 great ways to do that?

But, as you read on, the same headline says, “for fun and profit.” Aren’t these two ideas at opposing ends of the spectrum? The answer is: Not any more!

The whole blossoming panorama of social media and, more specifically, using social media as a part of your marketing strategy, is something everyone should be paying attention to. Especially if you’re an entrepreneur or business owner.

How do I know this? Well, I’m the guy who back in 2005-2006 orchestrated the phenomenally successful internet campaign behind the smash hit movie, The Secret. This was a pure internet launch, on a minimal budget, that tapped many strategies including pay-per-click (PPC), blogging, search engine optimization (SEO), master plot optimization (MPO), database marketing, JVs and–to no small extent–social media and social media optimization (SMO). The campaign proved beyond any doubt that there can be profit in social media marketing and–as the guy driving that secret social media Volkswagen bus–take it from me; it was a lot of fun.

Back in 2005, social media was just ratcheting up as Yahoo 360, YouTube, Bebo, Facebook and Ning took their spots on the horizon. Yes, many things came before that, all the way back to the way-ahead-of-its-time “Six Degrees” community of 1997; but in my mind it was 2005 when the social media roller coaster reached the peak of its incline and, wow, what a ride it has been since then.

All of the strategies I’ve mentioned could fill a dozen books, and over time I’d love to share my ideas and experiences on these and other topics, but today I’ve decided to focus in on a particular subset of social media known as microblogging. Yes, that’s blogging on a microscopic scale.

Twitter Is No Secret
When Twitter stepped into the social media scene in 2006 it changed blogging forever with the concept of limiting posts to 140 characters, much like posting an SMS text message–only you were blogging (thus the “micro” part of microblogging). Furthermore, because of the 140-character limit on posts, Twitter was a natural for bridging the gap between the internet and mobile.

The Twitter concept employs a “FollowMe” system whereby you elect to follow people you know or people you find interesting and, in turn, many will “follow” you–that is, if you are interesting.

Voila . . . the perfect, socially oriented, easy and portable communications system was born; and it would not take long before entrepreneurs began thinking about the “M” word: marketing.

Today I’ll be sharing some “Twitter secrets” (some marketing, some not) and I’ll focus on Twitter largely because it is the most popular platform exclusively devoted to microblogging. However, by no means is microblogging the exclusive terrain of Twitter. There are many others, such as: Spoink, Identi.ca, Pownce, Plurk, ReJaw, Blippr or Google’s Jaiku. But first . . .

Who Uses Twitter and Why?
NASA used Twitter to break the news of what appeared to be water ice found on Mars by the Phoenix Mars Lander. The Los Angeles Fire Department has put the technology to use to help communicate during California wildfires. The University of Texas at San Antonio College of Engineering is using Twitter to relay information to students.

Whether you deem Twitter as frivolous or genius largely depends on how you use it. No doubt you can twit away an entire day without accomplishing anything. Yet the rewards for exploring Twitter or any other platform for microblogging are compelling for both social and business/marketing purposes.

The new chant for socially aware marketers has evolved from subscribe, subscribe, subscribe to followme, followme, followme as lists of devoted followers are built. And the insights into a business’s niche can be greatly enhanced by scanning the collective commentary of followers and non-followers.

Twitter Secret #1
Open a Twitter account at:
http://twitter.com

Wait, don’t move too fast. You’ll be required to create a Twitter username and that username is important. It will appear at the end of your Twitter URL:
http://twitter.com/USERNAME

It should be socially acceptable and/or interesting, or it should be some variation of your name. If possible, keep it short, memorable and easy to spell. Be very careful about using a stuffy company name: This is social media, and people prefer to communicate with people. Few people would want to follow “IdahoRotoRooterLLC” - I think you’ll agree.

You are only permitted to use letters, numbers and ‘_’

Twitter Secret #2
Think of your Twitter username (and URL) almost like a domain name, and if there are variations of your name that you feel are important, secure those by establishing secondary accounts. For example, I suggest people follow me at: http://twitter.com/dhollings but I also have http://twitter.com/danhollings which redirects people to my primary account.

You’ll also note that you can have public or private Twitter accounts, so you can use separate accounts on Twitter for various private or public purposes. Don’t go nutty, but it typically makes sense to establish at least two accounts. As you expand your understanding of Twitter uses, you can add more if you like.

Twitter Secret #3
Invest 15 minutes and skim through the Twitter Help and FAQ area.
http://help.twitter.com/

This is important. In fact, many people ask me how I learn all this “marketing stuff” since I rarely attend seminars of any kind. Here’s the secret:

Whenever you engage in any new tool or system, head quickly to the help, tutorial or FAQ area. Look around, click around, explore, read, think and absorb.

The next step in this secret is to visit a dozen or so users of the system. As you do, observe carefully what they are doing and think how you can do it better.

This might not sound like a secret, but I have a theory that if people did this, most seminar givers would be out of business today.

Twitter Secret #4
Within your Twitter account settings, you are allowed to add a web address. The setting form says “Have a homepage or a blog?” Caution, don’t think this is unimportant. Yes, add a URL here, but it does not have to be your “homepage or a blog”.

What URL should you link to? Answer: The URL that links to the most interesting page related to you that you have. If it’s your homepage or blog, OK, but you might consider creating a special page dedicated to your goal. A page that confirms in the visitor’s mind: “Yes, this is a person I’d like to follow!” Link to a page that illustrates in some way that you are interesting. That’s the secret.

Regardless of which page you use for this URL, make sure your page clearly provides a way for the visitor to get back to Twitter so he or she can click your follow button.

If your Twitter account is a secondary account, then add the URL to your primary Twitter page.

Twitter Secret #5
Definitely spend some time thinking about your one-line Twitter bio. This is a 160-character line (it can include a URL) that appears in the upper right corner of your Twitter home page.

When people discover your Twitter page, they will likely read your micro-bio, and wording it well can make all the difference in getting them to follow you or not.

Twitter Bio Secret: Make it real, make it fun, make it interesting, make it you. Literally make your bio Twitter “follow bait.” You are fishing for followers, and the better the bait, the more followers you’ll catch.

Twitter Secret #6
Try to keep your Twitter “Following/Follower” ratio balanced. If a potential follower sees you are following 1,532 people and only 32 are following you–rightfully or wrong, some people make assumptions about what’s going on.

You can prune your Followers and Followings easily within your Twitter account or, if your numbers get big, services like “Less Friends” http://lessfriends.com/ can be helpful. (”Less Friends” - ha! You gotta love that name.)

Twitter Secret #7
Make your personal picture (icon) good and, if possible, upload a really interesting background image under the “Design” tab. A quick search on Google for “Twitter Backgrounds” “Twitter Wallpaper” or “Twitter Templates” will likely help.

A compelling background I designed for the eccentric marketing entrepreneur, Joe Polish, can be seen here: http://twitter.com/jpolish Joe has significant rea-life followers in the offline world, but converting those to online followers is a new process he’s just begun. What do you think? Does this background convey a big message that Joe might be someone worthy of following on Twitter?

Twitter Secret #8
What do you post? Ah, that’s the magical part. Now, granted, what you post depends largely on your goals and purpose with Twitter, but in general this is easy: Post interesting stuff, preferably related in some way to what you do, who you are, what you are interested in, etc. Twitter is not a micro-advertising billboard.

Secondly. Engage in conversation with others and reference who you’re talking to or about in your post by adding their Twitter username in this format: @dhollings

Add links to interesting stuff (the links will be shortened automatically by Twitter) or you can use redirect services like:

http://is.gd (very short)
http://go2468.com (allows custom URLs)
http://tweetburner.com/ (gives you click-thru stats)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
About now many Twitter folks are thinking, geez Dan,
good stuff but I’m way beyond the basics. Throw some
really cool stuff at me. I want to take my Twittering to a
new level.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Twitter Secret #9
One challenge with Twitter is that when you link out to other websites from any given post, and your visitor is not yet a follower, he or she may click away and be gone forever.

In addition, if you are marketing something and want an opportunity to display a banner or additional content to your Twitter traffic, there is little opportunity to do this within Twitter.

TwitterSplit.com goes a long way toward solving this by literally putting you on top of the page you link out to. It’s a simple script that requires you place it on your server, but once installed you can frame unlimited links very creatively.

EXAMPLE:
Let’s say I wanted to share with my Twitter readers a cool little tool called “Tweet 2 Tweet.” Something I found that lets you read both sides of a Twitter conversation, and I think my followers would benefit from it.

I could link to it direct, like this:

http://www.tweet2tweet.com
-OR-
Using TwitterSplit I could link like below
(note: look what’s on top of page–my banner for TwitterSplit):
http://twurl.nl/kr8exc

You may get TwitterSplit here:
http://twittersplit.com

Twitter Secret #10
Honestly, I could continue for days with these Twitter tips, but here is my final Twitter Tip Secret. And this is a Twitter Gold Nugget.

Getting Twitter followers is all about getting traffic to your Twitter page and compelling them to follow you because you are “Follow Worthy.”

Once your Twitter account is set up and you have a healthy smattering of posts, the key is to start integrating “Follow Me on Twitter” messages and links to your Twitter page everywhere.

Every profile you have online (FaceBook, Google Local, Amazon.com, Your Blog, LinkedIn, MySpace, ReJaw, MerchantCircle, Ecademy, Pownce, Bebo, Tumblr etc etc) should include your Follow Me message and a link to your Twitter page or a web page dedicated to your Twitter activities.

Don’t think online only. Add a “Follow Me” message on your business card, on fliers, on bus benches, bumper stickers and let’s not forget mobile. You can send SMS text messages with your Twitter link as easily as e-mails. Just do it.

And for those of you that are SEO savvy, try a Google search for “Dan Hollings” and examine the top listing (not to mention others).

There’s a “Google Site Link” that says: “Follow Dan on Twitter.” How cool is that?

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Dan+Hollings&btnG=Google+Search

I gotta stop here and get back to Twittering my life away! I need more fun; I like more profit!

Yearning for more? Guess what you must do?

You got it!

Follow Dan Hollings on Twitter
http://twitter.com/dhollings

For Las Vegas entrepreneur Richelle Shaw, dating three men in three cities didn’t add up to a winning proposition at first. No, this isn’t a Sex and the City rerun; it really happened and, after a few major bumps in the road, there is a happy ending.

Forty-year-old Richelle Shaw has a green thumb when it comes to turning a company into a mega-success. And it doesn’t matter if it’s a business she owns or someone else’s. For starters, finding out that more than 300,000 Americans lose their phone service each month because of missed payments was the premise for Shaw’s company.

As fate would have it, she built a multimillion-dollar company, and nowadays many fledgling entrepreneurs have her to thank for turning their businesses around. How-to advice can be found in her book, “How to Build A Million Dollar Business in Las Vegas Without the Casinos,” or you can check out Shaw’s coaching program. To read a free chapter of her book click here: FREE CHAPTER

No, this isn’t a sneaky sales pitch because Shaw isn’t your run-of-the-mill entrepreneur who turned to coaching to make a living. Quite the opposite, this single mom is incredibly successful in her own right and has a passion for helping others attain fame and fortune.

If you read the answer to the first question I asked her, you might be as curious as I was. And it takes a lot to get my attention. Bottom line, I just had to know. How can I be like Richelle?

Your six-employee firm reached $2.37 million in sales last year, what inspired you to start your company?
SHAW: I am the only female African-American public utility in the nation. I own FreshStart Telephone. I was dating three men in three different states and had a high telephone bill. I was selling advertising, and the vice president of a local telephone company asked me to come and work for them. I did–was promoted six times in five years and grew the company from $300,000 to $36 million. I ended up buying the company from my boss. Lost it all after the 9/11, World Trade Center tragedy and rebuilt it back to $1 million in about six months.

What is unique or special about your business that gives it an edge over your competitors?
SHAW: I understand how to market. The customers drive my business. Actually, the results from marketing campaigns drive my business. Not what I think, not what my friends or staff think.

Recent breakthrough?
SHAW: I understand that what I did was unique, and it was actually a template for business building. People kept asking me how did I do it, and I started coaching and consulting entrepreneurs to do the same things. The best thing is that now I have consulted with entrepreneurs in more than 47 different businesses and determined that no business is different. My strategies and techniques work for any kind of business.

Were there any challenges that you experienced along the way that appeared to be more difficult because you are a woman?
SHAW: When I first decided to buy the business, I went to SBA. I was approved based on my credit and experience; however, they did not like the business. SBA told me that I would never be able to compete with AT&T. Eight years and almost $100 million in sales between the two companies, I think I learned how to compete. Also, I found a venture capital group [that] was going to give me $5 million; they asked for an engagement fee of $75,000. I wired the money and never heard from them again. Just dumb! So when I bought the company I had to start with no money in reserves. I created a deal with my boss to finance the company with receivables, but I had to get new business fast. We sold off the less profitable divisions and laid off staff to make it work. Then, after 9/11, I was forced to start over. This time, with no customer base that I could leverage, no cash and no credit because I had to file bankruptcy; so I had to use my creative sales and marketing skills to rebuild. The best thing to ever happen, because when things turned around, I did not owe any loans or half of my company to any other investors. Were these challenges because I was a woman, I am not sure, but they were difficult.

Did you need to have a certain mindset to achieve success?
SHAW: I have had every obstacle I think there is, including being diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism. I tell entrepreneurs when I speak that I was young (27), black, female and a little chubby. What did I have to lose? I just kept my head down and kept working. Even after I lost it all. Was it hard? Yes. Did I cry? Yes. Did I stay in the bed for a week? Yes. But then my mind started working again, and I went back out there to put another deal together. I also became a true student of marketing. Not the kind they teach in college. . . . Funny story:

Went to UCLA and graduated with a history degree. So after my business failed, I thought maybe it was because I did not have an MBA. So I enrolled at UNLV for classes. Because I had no business classes, I had to take basic business classes. At the time I owned workz.com that I purchased out of bankruptcy court, and it contained [more than] 4,000 articles about small business and how to grow online. Back to UNLV, I opened the textbook and went to the internet section and it said–a great place to find resources and information about starting a business online is workz.com. What? The same website I owned, in the textbook? I decided that as an entrepreneur I could now focus on what works, allow the results to rule (not the textbook) and keep doing what I had been doing.

Has the media picked up on your story and what have you done to attract them?
SHAW: Yes, I have been featured in USA Today, Wells Fargo Online, Black Enterprise, Entrepreneur and Smart Money. Then, after USA Today and Smart Money, I began to write my book, “How to Build A Million Dollar Business in Las Vegas–Without the Casinos.” It is about my successes and failures building my business, and a step-by-step guide to build a business from scratch without money, without a big client and the essential fundamental skills to make it work every time.

Can other individuals reproduce your business model?
SHAW: Yes, absolutely. They can reproduce the business model even if they are not in the telecom industry. I have helped entrepreneurs including a performing arts school, a gynecologist, urologist, music store, CPA, solar screen provider–even a psychic!

What resources were most helpful to you when you were starting your business?
SHAW: Lots of books! I read daily. Lots of marketing books–anything by Dan Kennedy. The Ultimate Marketing Plan is my favorite.

What ways have you found to be most effective in marketing your product or service to get sales?
SHAW: I practice what I call the 5 Star System. It starts with the three R’s. Reactivation, Retention and Referral. Each one of these has a system to bring in business daily. The fourth piece of the star system is new-client acquisition through lead generation, and the fifth piece is a multi-media marketing funnel.

I don’t just do one thing. I don’t know one way to bring in 84 customers but 84 ways to bring in one. Currently in the telephone business I have 84 ways to bring in a new customer. From joint ventures with bankruptcy attorneys to charity events. It all works. What took my business from ordinary to extraordinary was when I implemented them all at the same time each month. This is what I teach business owners to do now.

What tips can you give others who want to embrace their dream but don’t have the confidence or who feel they don’t have what it takes to succeed?
SHAW: You have nothing to lose! If you are waiting for the perfect time, perfect never comes. I was waiting for the perfect time to have a child and it never came–but I was blessed when I least expected it, and everything is just fine. The same with the business. Just start! Every day you wait, you are losing money.

As you know I love getting feedback, so let me know how Weekend Entrepreneur can continue supporting your goals and aspirations with the best content around.

Cheers,

Michelle

Breaking free of the monotony of a 9-to-5 job may not be a piece of cake for most of us. But Pamela Slim is elated that she secured a nice little niche for herself around the concept. Already her popular blog, Escape From Cubicle Nation, has spawned a book by the same name, but you’ll have to wait until spring 2009 to read it.

Slim has trained with “the best-known life coach in America,” New York Times bestseller and O Magazine columnist Martha Beck. She is married with three kids and lives in Mesa, Arizona. “Entrepreneurship at its heart is aligning your purpose for being on earth with a business idea so compelling that you simply must do it, despite the fears that hold you back,” says Slim.

A pro at helping wannabe entrepreneurs jump ship, Slim took a little time out of her extremely busy writing and coaching schedule to talk about her journey.

Role model?
Slim: I love my mentor, Martha Beck, for her great contribution to the coaching field through a number of books (Finding Your Own North Star, Steering by Starlight) and ongoing magazine articles (O Magazine). I love how she makes writing a key part of her business, as well as how she truly lives her coaching principles.

Personal mantra?
Slim: If it tastes like liberation, it must be a good direction.

When did you start your business, and what inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
Slim: I started my business in 1996. When I first got into consulting, I thought I was just doing project work between jobs. But as soon as I started working for myself, I got lightening bolts of inspiration and realized I was made to be an entrepreneur. I have never looked back!

What tips can you give others who want to embrace their dream but don’t feel they have the confidence to move forward?
Slim: Creating an ideal life out of a place where you feel very stuck is a series of very small, incremental steps. Don’t worry about getting an entire business model designed and launched; do one small thing and see how it feels. When you get positive validations that a. You are capable of doing new things and b. It is possible to make progress, you get energy to continue the journey.

I also encourage people to develop a circle of supportive friends and mentors. If you try to do everything alone, you will feel very scared and unsure of what you are doing. By connecting with people on blogs, Twitter, social networking sites and plain old in-person networking events, you will gain courage.

Tell us about your product and what it was like to take an idea from concept to getting it up and running?
Slim: My business has changed since I first started it 12 years ago. I started as a consultant to large corporations, in the areas of training and development, management coaching and marketing communications. I got immediate validation that I could succeed as a consultant the first year I was in business when referrals started to come from my clients. In the almost 10 years that I did consulting, I never made a cold call.

In the most recent iteration of my business, I offer three things: coaching sessions for individuals, training for other coaching and entrepreneur companies and writing. I knew there was a market for my coaching when my blog really took off. Clients came calling without any effort, all attracted by what I was writing about.

Have you noticed certain advantages to being an entrepreneur versus having a day job?
Slim: It has been so long since I had a day job I can hardly remember. The advantages of being an entrepreneur are so many. Primarily, working for myself fits who I am as a person. I like flexibility, creating new things and not being stuck doing the same thing for a long time. I also have loved being able to flex my business as my life changes. I have had two kids in the last three years, so I was able to totally change my business model in order to work much less and stay home instead of travel the world. All this without having to have painful negotiations with my boss.

How long did it take before your business became profitable?
Slim: Mine was profitable the first month. Knowledge-based businesses are so much easier than those with great infrastructure costs!

Were there any challenges that you experienced along the way that you had to overcome?
Slim: I have had to overcome a lot of challenges. When I first started, I felt I was so green that I didn’t always have the answers my clients were looking for. I soon learned to rely heavily on mentors and to only worry about the project in front of me. As I completed more and more successful projects, I gained confidence.

When I started my coaching business, I had to learn everything about internet marketing from the ground up. None of my clients came from personal relationships as my consulting business had. So the learning curve was steep!

Can you share a few resources with us?
Slim: I love Robert Middleton’s site, actionplan.com. He focuses on independent service professionals like myself, and has wonderful information about creating a marketing program. I also often recommend startupnation.com to new entrepreneurs, as it has a wealth of great, free information.

For more information on Pamela Slim visit her at EscapeFromCubicleNation.com and ganas.com.

Looking forward to your coments; feel free to reply below.

Michelle

It’s amusing to me how the terms “early adapter” and “early adopter” are often misused and confused. Here’s my take on it. If you were one of the Harvard students who initially used Facebook, then you’re an early adopter. You’re the first to ever use Facebook. (”Adopt” definition: “to take up and practice as one’s own”). It started on Feb. 4, 2004, when a Harvard student named Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook, which was limited to Harvard students.

Fast forward to 2006. Facebook spread to other college campuses and, in September of that year, it was accessible to anyone with an e-mail address. Those people were the early adapters because they took it and adapted it to their own needs and interests.

Don’t laugh at me because I don’t fall into either category. Let’s just say when it comes to technology, I’m a late bloomer. But I’m willing to learn. Over the weekend I officially activated my Facebook page. Here’s the irony: I don’t recall ever signing up for Facebook but I guess I did, because my dear friend Michelle told me she helped me. And to my amazement I logged on and there was my Facebook page with a picture of me and, even more shocking, I discovered several people who had invited me to be their friend.

A producer sent me a note last August after I was a guest on her radio show. Which reminds me: Before any of this started, I received a Facebook e-mail invitation from talk show host Rolonda Watts. Now this one had me totally perplexed because I couldn’t figure out how I got invited, so I just left the e-mail sitting there. Honestly, I was speechless. Watts and I have a few mutual friends, but since I didn’t know how Facebook worked until now, I couldn’t respond.

It didn’t take me long to start checking my Facebook account, and I have 50+ “friends.” I discovered that Rolonda Watts has 436 friends, and NewsMax journalist James Hirsen, whom I know from my days of producing the “Dr. Laura” show, has 2,711 friends. Also, I located my former Entrepreneur.com editor Francine Kizner, and she has 401 friends. A week ago I didn’t understand the value of Facebook. No way could I connect with this many people in such a short period of time, unless I were at a party.

Over the past few days I have found myself entering a few names of friends and associates. It’s a cool way to connect, see their faces, send little notes back and forth and meet new people to network with.

If the Web 2.0 bug hasn’t bitten you yet, it might be time to check out a new sandbox. And if you don’t know what Web 2.0 means, I won’t tell anyone. But you may want to check out the explanation on Wikipedia. Facebook is far more popular than I had ever imagined. More than eight and a half million pictures are uploaded onto Facebook daily, and it has about 42 million members worldwide.

I’m new at Facebook, so if you have any tips, I’m all ears! And if you’re a newbie like me, let’s learn together.

A year ago blogging was the last thing on my mind. Believe me when I tell you, I was clueless. So you live, and you learn. Who knows what the heck I’ll be doing next year. But if we’re hanging out on Facebook, it will be a lot easier to get the word out about new trends that are going on. Hey, I just thought about someone else I’m going to try to locate on Facebook tonight: Richard Laermer. His new book is called “2011 Trendspotting For The Next Decade.” This Facebook thing can get pretty addicting.

Feel free to introduce yourself to me on Facebook and let me know that you read my blog. I’ll be back to write about my adventures with Facebook real soon.

Dedicated to your success,
Michelle Anton

In 1998 Jack Humphrey started getting serious about breaking away from bosses of any kind. He dabbled and made mistakes trying to find the illusive “easy way out” and didn’t start full time until 2002 when he launched his first ebook “Power Linking” which became the seminal guide to link-building on the web.

Today, his company is on the leading edge of what’s new and what’s hot online in connecting directly to your online audience. They deliver membership services and consulting for marketing, branding, social marketing, search engine optimization and link building.

Take it away Jack…

Tell us about your business?

Humphrey: Our main project now is Social Power Linking which is a membership that contains all of our social marketing training.

Authority Site Center is a 3 year-old membership site where we train people to build “authority” sites with social media, blogs, and professional marketing and content development tactics along with exclusive software.

NetSmartMedia.com is our PR firm which handles full-service social marketing, branding, and publicity for clients who are too busy for the do-it-yourself option.

Did you go straight from corporate employee to full-time entrepreneur or did you transition from part-time to full-time entrepreneur?

Humphrey: It was a transition. I was never a corporate player. I was a professional in the environmental movement as an executive director and activist for 11 years right out of college.

How long did it take you to go full-time and what were some of the challenges you had?

Humphrey: It took 4 years to become serious enough to transition by realizing I needed to do something remarkable to get noticed and start gaining momentum as a player in my niche. Once I figured out my angle (no one was talking about link building the way I was and I saw my “in” by writing Power Linking) I quickly went full time “overnight.” It just took 4 years for that overnight success to be realized. I don’t recommend anyone take that long and today no one has to if they follow the right people and have a good work ethic.

Tell us about your first years as a corporate employee turned entrepreneur .What did you learn from those early years that helped you to move your business forward?

Humphrey: It is definitely about who you know. Once you have something to offer in a market niche, the way to explode on the scene is to diligently network among the players in that niche to get them to give you a leg up via a joint venture or publicity in front of their people.

What do you know now, that you wish you would have known then?

Humphrey: That there is no such thing as a “cookie-cutter” way to make money online. I kept thinking I could sign up for a network marketing program or other money-making scheme and get by with the tools they gave me to market their products. Problem is, all 10000 of the other people in the company are doing the exact same thing and to really win, you have to be remarkable. Stand out. Blaze your own trail and be different.

Approximately how much money did you have to invest before your business became profitable?

Humphrey: I worked for non profits for 11 years. I had nothing to invest and no savings, 401 k, nada. I literally started with an internet connection and an idea and followed it through by leveraging joint ventures and getting any kind of publicity I could get for free.

What is the single most important piece of advice you would give to a current corporate employee who wants to become a “weekend entrepreneur” first, then grow a business?

Humphrey: To never doubt whether you are cut out for it. At one point in history the corporate gig was what everyone did until they retired with a gold watch and a pat on the back. These days all the rules are completely obliterated and the only thing I can imagine that holds people in the cororate world is the regular paycheck and lack of entrepreneurial spirit.

If you aren’t comfortable with forcing yourself to take a risk now and then, you can’t get very far working for yourself. Practice by starting on weekends and days off and see how you like what you can produce in profits and go from there.

I find it funny that people will leave their cubicles for the weekends and sky dive, bungie jump, or hike in bear country, but when asked if they’d risk the “security” of corporate life to venture out on their own, they don’t like the prospect of that risk.

My feeling is you either have it in you or you don’t, but even the people who don’t have the gumption to go full time can make extra money on the weekends.

Many of those people eventually find that they like it so much, or their ideas, products, or services are so good, they have to go full time.

Who should read your “Authority Black Book 2008” eBook?

Humphrey: Anyone who wants traffic. The alternatives to social marketing are heavy search engine optimization (big learning curve) and other traditional, less effective marketing tactics. Social marketing is more effective than any other form of marketing and especially for beginners who don’t want to spend a year or two mastering harder tactics.

What’s next?

Humphrey: For me, it is growing both our memberships into the thousands and doing far more offline publicity for the businesses. I continue to hang off the edge of the web looking for nuggets from the future to bring back to my members and clients. The real power of the web is being out front and being first.

For your readers? Getting started. Do it gently and take your time on weekends and evenings to see all the possibilities the web offers for all kinds of businesses you could get into. If you don’t explore and allow yourself the time to get familiar with how others have “made it” you will become discouraged very quickly.

Read the Black Book and immerse yourself in the social scene. Have fun learning. And know that at some point you are going to come up with an idea that is going to be worth pursuing and just might be the idea that launches you into total independence. I can tell you that, for me, there is absolutely nothing in the world I would rather do to make a living.

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And so dear readers, there you have it. You can start out with no capital investment except your time, and you can do it in your spare time, and on weekends. And from the looks of what Jack is up to, there is no better time than now to just get started.

“100% of the shots you never take, don’t go in”
–Wayne Gretzky

Michelle Price