Daydream Believing in Your Business

This country was built on ideas. Many of those ideas may have even started out with someone dreaming about changing their situation to something different or better.

Thomas Edison's schoolmaster, "angered by the lad's inattentive 'dreamy,' distracted behavior, frustrated by his tendency to drift off during recitations, to draw and doodle in his notebook instead of repeating rote lessons," cuffed and ridiculed him in front of his classmates. 'One day,' Edison recalled with bitterness many years later, 'I heard the teacher tell the visiting school inspector that I was addled and it would not be worthwhile keeping me in school any longer. I was so hurt by this last straw that I burst out crying and went home and told my mother.' His indignant mother 'brought him back to the school and angrily told the teacher that he didn't know what he was talking about, that I had more brains than he himself.'" Mrs. Edison pulled Thomas out of school and began home-schooling, determined that "no formalism would cramp his style, no fetters hobble the free rein, the full sweep of his imagination." ("Edison - Inventing the Century" by Neil Baldwin, 1995).
Sigmund Freud wrote extensively about the psychological importance of dreams, including those of daydreams.

And did you know that some of the most innovative companies in the world, like Google and 3M give their employees the time and space to daydream? Visualization, in which athletes essentially daydream their own perfect performances, is widely used to maximize athletic performance.

The importance of allowing your brain to have creative flow through such avenues as daydreams is a critical piece of entrepreneurial success.

So take that break and allow your mind to flow freely...you never know what ideas may become as famous as Edison's or Freud's.

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A pioneer in the virtual world, as well as an author, speaker and business coach, Jennifer Wong has been helping entrepreneurs or "homepreneurs" succeed with their businesses for over 10 years. Sign up at http://www.thehomebizbuzz.com for her intense, information-packed ezine to be in on the buzz for your small business. Whether you're just starting out with your dream business, or simply looking for resources for your existing business, you won't want to miss getting in on the BUZZ.

How Come There Are No Business Naming Books Like The Baby Names Books?

A name is not just a name. It’s how prospective clients will see you first, their very first impression. You need to find a name that suits what you do. Business Solutions Plus was born out of my main focus of helping solve small business’s problems. (I highly recommend staying away from “cutsie” names that would give your clients a casual immature view of you.) A good place to start researching names is to take the names you are considering and Google them to see what comes up. Then narrow it down by taking those top 3 names and entering them into a domain name search (such as http://www.godaddy.com/ or http://www.whois.com/) to see if they are available for purchase.


Before you decide on your name, I highly advise you to sleep on it so that you’re comfortable with it. It doesn’t bode well to change it midstream. Your name should be not thought of as flaky or fly-by-night, so be sure before you get started marketing it!


A word of caution…you may also need to check your local zoning ordinances and register your business with your city and county. Later on you can consider registering with the state you are in and getting an EIN. Check with your financial advisor as to the best way to set up your business.

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A pioneer in the virtual world, as well as an author, speaker and business coach, Jennifer Wong has been helping entrepreneurs or "homepreneurs" succeed with their businesses for over 10 years. Sign up at http://www.thehomebizbuzz.com for her intense, information-packed ezine to be in on the buzz for your small business. Whether you're just starting out with your dream business, or simply looking for resources for your existing business, you won't want to miss getting in on the BUZZ.

5 Tips on How to Be Successful in YOUR Business

1. Be passionate about what you do. If you love what you do, it will show through in every aspect of your business. Likewise, if you don't love what you're doing, it will be apparent as well.

2. Commit the time to succeed. Follow your goals and commit the time you need to ahceive them, in your daily life and beyond.

3. Know when to ask for help. Whether it's by seeking out a mentor for your business, or outsourcing tasks to an assistant, know when you can't do it all.

4. Keep it simple. Know the phrase, Keep it simple stupid? Keep that in mind in everything from structuring your business to even what you offer your customers.

5. Know your competition. Knowing this helps you maintain that edge needed to offer either something your competition doesn't offer, or something better than what the competition offers.
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A pioneer in the virtual world, as well as an author, speaker and business coach, Jennifer Wong has been helping entrepreneurs or "homepreneurs" succeed with their businesses for over 10 years. Sign up at http://www.thehomebizbuzz.com for her intense, information-packed ezine to be in on the buzz for your small business. Whether you're just starting out with your dream business, or simply looking for resources for your existing business, you won't want to miss getting in on the BUZZ.

How To Avoid Being Exiled By Facebook

For the last several weeks I've been noticing a lot of BIG name internet gurus sending me notes telling me of their Facebook exile experiences. Facebook is a great social networking site that allows you to meet and network with other entrepreneurs, friends and family. Here are some red flags that will get you booted off of Facebook sooner than you can say "facebook."

Accepting too many friends at once.
OK so you've ignored so many notification/friend requests and you decide one day to catch up on all your friend requests...be careful! Accepting too many at once will send that red flag to the automated facebook police! Try accepting 5 at a time every day to circumvent it.

Sending out too many messages.
Facebook's spam filter will automatically flag you if you send out too many messages at once, so again, try to limit them to 5 a day until you catch up.

Promoting your business or service too much.
The automated facebook spam filter will pick up if your messages look too "canned" so make your messages personal and put your web link after your name.

Stay tuned in my next post on Twitter tips. See you around facebook!
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A pioneer in the virtual world, as well as an author, speaker and business coach, Jennifer Wong has been helping entrepreneurs or "homepreneurs" succeed with their businesses for over 10 years. Sign up at http://www.thehomebizbuzz.com for her intense, information-packed ezine to be in on the buzz for your small business. Whether you're just starting out with your dream business, or simply looking for resources for your existing business, you won't want to miss getting in on the BUZZ.

Knowing When To Hold 'Em and When to Fold 'Em

In this economy especially, it's hard to turn clients away or sometimes even dissolving your business relationship. I recently had to part ways with a client after a prolonged and agonizing self-examination of our relationship. My "a-ha" moment came after I realized that I was not enjoying our work together and that there was a disconnect between us. After analzying how much revenue (or lack of revenue in this case as it was not much) would be lost if I fired this client, I decided that it was time to fold 'em as Kenny Rogers says.

Looking back on how I arrived at this point to have to fire a client, I realized that if I had followed what I teach my clients to do, I would not have gotten to that point at all! There's a saying, "physician, heal thyself" that applies to this.

When new or prospective clients come to you, it's critical that you take those dollar sign glasses off and really look at several factors, such as:

• Do I feel comfortable with interacting with this person? (for example, are they compatible to my personality?)
• Do I enjoy doing the tasks or services they require of me? (for example, if you don't like making telemarketing calls and that's what they're looking for--well guess what? You'll be wishing you turned this client away from the jump start!)
• How much work or product would I have to make from this relationship for it to be worth it to me?
• Is the work or service they're asking for in alignment with where I want to be?

If you ask yourself those 4 simple questions, you will save yourself some questions later on. Having a great relationship with your clients is a key to more business--through referrals from them and future work opportunties with them.

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A pioneer in the virtual world, as well as an author,speaker and business coach, Jennifer Wong has been helping entrepreneurs or "homepreneurs" succeed with their businesses for over 10 years. Sign up at http://www.thehomebizbuzz.com for her intense, information-packed ezine to be in on the buzz for your small business. Whether you're just starting out with your dream business, or simply looking for resources for your existing business, you won't want to miss getting in on the BUZZ.

Getting the most out of your time...

As an entrepreneur for the last ten years, I have learned greatly from the mistakes I've made as well as the "home runs" I've made. I've compiled a list of tips to help you manage your time and business efficiently so that you have more time to devote to doing what you love to do best.

1. Have a schedule for the week. I'm not saying that you need to plan every minute but I've found it extremely helpful to plan the week out in advance. For example, Monday, post to blog, check in social networking sites, client check in calls. Tuesday, article marketing and social networking site check in. Planning out what days you do what can help you maximize how much time you have for other work and down time.
2. Decide ahead of time what hours are business hours for you. For example, if you have a child who goes to school, perhaps your hours would be during school hours. Or, if you have a toddler, your business hours could maybe be nap times and at night. Having set hours also helps you avoid the "all work and no play makes Jack/Jill a dull boy/girl" syndrome.
3. Have a whiteboard and calendar posted up prominently where you can see them. I put all my goals for the week on one whiteboard and on another put projects for each client and due dates. Being able to visualize what you have on your plate helps it not seem so overwhelming---especially when you can wipe it off when it's done!
4. Put all your tasks and reminders in Outlook under the Task Manager setting. It will automatically come up when you open Outlook and serves as an additional reminder of what you have going on.

Want more tips? Sign up for my bi-weekly ezine, jammed pack of tips and resources for your home business. To sign up, send an email to: ezine@thehomebizbuzz.com with your first name in the subject line.

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Jennifer Wong is a successful solo entreprenuer who began her business over 10 years ago, pioneering the way for many successful internet entrepreneurs. She offers home-based business coaching and mentorship programs and a biweekly ezine from her website, http://www.thehomebizbuzz.com/.

911 for Your Business!

I was recently reminded of how important it is to have an emergency plan in place for your business. Last week, I went to my home office to start a day of work and low and behold my computer would not power up. I, of course, went through all the steps I knew to try to troubleshoot it, but wound up taking it into the PC hospital.


Likewise, I was working offsite at a client's and wound up straining my back. Many of you know that I teach yoga many times a week, so this is almost like having a computer that won't turn on.


What lesson I learned from this was that every business, small or big, regardless of what you do, needs a back up plan or emergency plan. This goes beyond backing up critical files (although this is a great link for some info on how to back up your system: http://www.business.com/directory/advice/technology/data-management/backing-up-your-business/) This means also having that back up process where you are able to function remotely (such as from another computer on the premises, or laptop).


For example, what if your phones went out, 5 minutes before an important client call? Do you have your client's contact numbers in a physical place other than on your computer files? Do you have good coverage from your cell in your house?


Here are some suggestions for setting up your emergency business kit:

• Have a binder of important contact numbers and client processes on hand


• Make sure you have a printout of bookmarked sites for your clients (such as email access accounts for them if you have a custom email address for that client)


• Have a good cell phone coverage and plan in place so that you can have quality calls even if your business line goes down.

Most of all, make sure that you don't stress out! Be flexible and adaptable and realize that you CAN make it work wherever you are...that's the beauty of working remotely!

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Jennifer Wong is a successful solo entreprenuer who began her business over 10 years ago, pioneering the way for many successful internet entrepreneurs. She offers home-based business coaching and mentorship programs and a biweekly ezine from her website, www.thehomebizbuzz.com.

Letting Go...

When you first begin your business venture, you wind up doing EVERYTHING...acting as a bookkeeper, a receptionist, administrative assistant and CEO. And then your business grows and you find yourself feeling overwhelmed and things are starting to pile up on your "to do" list.

The important thing to remember is that you are NOT ALONE! There is a huge virtual world of people to help you.

I realized this in a recent lesson I learned. Having "done it all" for the last 10 years of my business, when it came time to launch a new site (thehomebizbuzz.com ---coming soon!) I panicked! How was I going to have time enough to create the content, set up the technical aspects of a website AND keep my other ventures going? So, I decided to take a lesson from some of my favorite mentors and realized that delegation was the key to my success, and I decided to outsource my web design.

Elance.com and guru.com are two excellent sites to post projects and have providers bid on your job. You set the budget and time frame and are protected through an escrow system. There are many qualified virtual administrative assistants, web designers, graphic designers, bookkeepers and much more out there, waiting to help your business grow.

The bottom line is that if you want your business to grow you need to stop trying to do it all yourself and think about what you can delegate to others so that you can focus on what YOU do best---growing your business!

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Jennifer Wong is a successful solo entreprenuer who began her business over 10 years ago, pioneering the way for many successful internet entrepreneurs. She offers home-based business coaching and mentorship programs and a biweekly ezine from her website, www.thehomebizbuzz.com.

Mirror, Mirror...Am I As Successful As I Want to Be?

Let's face it, we as human beings need motivation or some type of inspiration to achieve our goals. For some, it's money. For others, it may be fame (such as celebrities). And yet others may be motivated or inspired by a higher calling (such as humanitarians). So take a moment and think about with your business, what is it that you hope to achieve? Is it financial success? Perhaps fame? Or is it something else?


Here's a 5-minute exercise I want you all to try:

1. First of all, have a notepad and pen handy.


2. Close your eyes and visualize a picture of yourself as a sucessful business owner. What do you see?


3. Visualize your bank account---what do you see as a balance?


4. Who do you see yourself surrounded by?


5. Open your eyes and write down what you saw. Make it into a statement about who you want to be.


6. Post it near your desk so you physically see it every day. Every morning, repeat the statement you wrote.

The more you visualize your success and what it looks like, the better your chances are of achieving it. Never lose sight of your vision and become blinded by things that distract you from that picture of your success.

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Jennifer Wong is a successful solo entreprenuer who began her business over 10 years ago, pioneering the way for many successful internet entrepreneurs. She offers home-based business coaching and mentorship programs and a biweekly ezine from her website, www.thehomebizbuzz.com.

Don't Paint Yourself Into a Corner!

Take a moment and close your eyes. Visualize your business’s success. How does it look? Jot down your how your picture of success looks. Setting goals for yourself gives you measurable rungs on the ladder of success, eliminating the chances you'll paint yourself into a corner.

Setting and refining your goals is an important step to achieving them! You can't box yourself into a corner if you are constantly reviewing your work.

Keep in mind that some of your goals may change as you achieve them, or as your business evolves. I always find goal-setting a great motivator.

I usually set my goals twice a year to make sure I have achievable success. A good time to set goals and re-work your vision is at the end of the year, right before New Years. This enables you to focus the year ahead on achieving your success.

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Jennifer Wong is a successful solo entreprenuer who began her business over 10 years ago, pioneering the way for many successful internet entrepreneurs. She offers home-based business coaching and mentorship programs and a biweekly ezine from her website, www.thehomebizbuzz.com.

Check Your Navigation...Where Are YOU Headed?

Remember those college road trips to nowhere? You remember...the ones where you decide on a Friday afternoon that you need a road trip but no one knows where to go? Just you and your best pals cruising the open highway...destination unknown.

As a contrast, captains of cruise ships have set directions to navigate on the open seas to a certain, scheduled destination. Without the navigational directions, their passengers would never reach their destination.

In your business, your vision is your destination and your goals are your navigational directions. Without them, you're on the road to nowhere. Knowing where your business is headed is almost as important as how you get there.

Here are some tips on how to develop your vision:

1. Create an outcome. I know this sounds odd, starting from the end of the story rather than the beginning. Start looking at what you would like your business to achieve as if you were looking back at it already having done it. Be limitless. Write down what it is that you have accomplished in your vision, describe what it looks like.

2. Look at what you’ve written. Does it accurately describe what you want? If it doesn’t, go back to step one until you have it right.

3. List three values and think about what they mean for your business.

4. Review what you have written concerning your vision and the three values and create a statement about what your business is.

5. Now write to your mission statement. This is what do you want to do in terms of your vision. Your vision is where you see yourself and your mission is who you are. Your goals are how you get there.

Next week I'll go further into developing your goals for your business. In the meantime, send me a postcard from your destination!

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Jennifer Wong is a successful solo entreprenuer who began her business over 10 years ago, pioneering the way for many successful internet entrepreneurs. She offers home-based business coaching and mentorship programs and a biweekly ezine from her website, www.thehomebizbuzz.com.

What is YOUR Vision?

Recently, a client inadvertendly reminded me of a life lesson I learned when planning my wedding over 12 years ago. This client was struggling with someone she hired to produce a video for her...he just was NOT getting what she really wanted and she found herself giving in to his vision at certain points and was really frustrated.

My lesson on this came when my now mother-in-law offered to have someone she knew make my perfect wedding dress. This seamstress was a friend of her sisters. It was a sticky situation...you're marrying her son and she was pretty insistent, you get the picture. After sending my measurements and the picture of the dress I was dreaming of and my requirements, I waited. Two weeks before the wedding, the box arrived.

It was a yellow satin dress that had more shoulder pads than what an NFL player wears, with more lace than you would find ANYWHERE. Complete opposite of what I envisioned for MY wedding dress. Well, try telling that to your future mother-in-law. She made ME tell this seamstress, who had worked so hard to make something so so wrong for me. It was one of the hardest things I had to do, but it was MY dress and MY vision.

So, the moral of the story is to stick to YOUR vision for your business and not to what someone else envisions for your business. Here are some tips on how to do that:

1. Make sure that you are clear on what your vision is. If you don't know what you want, how can someone else possibly know what you want?
2. Listen to what they are saying...sometimes having someone repeat back what they understand helps you know to retool what you're saying.
3. Remember that you are responsible for your own vision...if it turns out to be not quite right, there's always room to change it and fine-tune it until you truly get it right!

Later this week we'll talk about how to create your vision, so stay tuned!

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Jennifer Wong is an experienced solo entrepreneur who started her business 10 years ago, long before many were even aware of the power of working virtually. To sign up for her weekly ezine with tips on how to stay focused on your vision, sign up at: http://www.thehomebizbuzz.com.