Put your Facebook events on steroids. Practice this technique with planning and purpose and your events attendance will soar.<< MORE >>

This common business mistake is robbing you blind! Grab your Google Local Business Listing right now! Not sure what this is? Think of it as the online version of a yellow pages ad. Sure, there are many online business directories out there, but none as big or searched as Google at this current time. For years now, on the net, local businesses have suffered because a butcher shop in a tiny backwater Vermont town was competing for top Google billing with a butcher shop in New Your City, L.A. or even Hong Kong. Not any more.<< MORE >>

True Insanity - in business or politics
Health-care Bill - Hazardous to your health

The old saying goes, insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. The political corollary would be electing the same people over and over and expecting different results.

A friend of mine, Ron Mueller, who provides tax advice to home based business owners, wrote about one more surprise buried in the Obama Health Care bill. Did you know that the bill requires you to provide a 1099 to everyone you pay over $600 to in business? Now, that might seem logical enough on the surface and at first brush. But think about the implication.

• Did you buy more than $600 in office supplies?
• Did you buy over $600 in gas? Did you think to keep track by gas station?
• To who at Southwest, United, and American Airlines do you send these 1099's?

Just start thinking about all those expenses from all those companies and multiply it by the number of forms that must be filed and mailed. Is this a diabolical plan to bail out the post office? What ever happened to the paperwork reduction act?

What in the thunder is this doing in a "health care bill"? Is there even a thread of a connection?

What else lurks in the ominous bill? Does the Shadow even know? Probably not.

It is likely that at the very least a bill to void this portion of the health care bill. But in this economy, is this what we need to be paying for? Create a huge bill encompassing everything under the sun, force it through, then spend months and years trying to undo the damage?

Let's make sure we hold our elected leaders accountable.

Let's also not pay a dime more in taxes than required by law. Owning a home based business is just one way to help reduce your personal tax burden. If you own a home based business, but you are not sure you are maximizing your home-based business deductions, check out cuttaxes.30fold.com.

If you do not own a home based business, or you are just starting to consider your options, check out the valuable information at 30fold Benefits.

Using Facebook successfully can be tricky sometimes, because it is a complex environment, and how each part interplays is not always immediately evident. In my case I created an event and invited people from my home state. But soon I was getting comments form people 2500 miles away that they were not going to make it — like "duh". ... << MORE >>

The Way Back Machine

Early 60's. Niel Sedaka was the rage. "Coma, coma, down dubee du down, down, breaking up is hard to do." Have you ever noticed, there's a song somewhere for every situation? Sometimes it is sadly true, sometimes it's a way to make light of the situation so you can move on. In some cases, maybe both.

Relationships come and go

As we go through our lives we form friendships, and some of those friendships turn serious, like a marriage or a business partnership. Now, make no mistake, I do not put those two on the same level, though there are many parallels that can be drawn, and some, but not all of the rules that apply to one also apply to the other. But today, I am focusing on business relationships, and specifically, those that, for one reason or another, don't survive. Sometimes we find ourselves as direct participants, and more often we are the innocent bystanders — collateral damage.

As in all phases of our lives, how we conduct ourselves is a key element of life, regardless of if we are directly, or indirectly involved. (You guessed it. There's a song for that. "You can't control the wind, but you can adjust the sail." Ricky Scaggs) And sometimes, we need a reminder - a clarion - to get our attention and help us refocus and remember our core values, and how we should move on from where we are.

Party of the first part

When it happens to us, when we are personally involved in the breakup, it can be especially difficult to do this refocusing. Often, it is because we have been wronged by the other party - or at least we think we have been. In either case, moving on can be difficult, especially if legal action ensues. This will constantly and easily draw our attention back to the breakup, regardless of efforts to move on. And sometimes our ability to move on, and the direction we go will be determined by the outcome of the legal action. So it really does demand that we focus on it.

Getting good advice

An ancient text recommends "Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war." Surround yourself with people who will give you good, sound, principled advice, and will help keep you focused on what it important, and what is noble and right. This may include others close to you - but you need someone without emotional attachment as well. Just having someone who will commiserate is not what you need here. It may be what you want, what will feel good, but it is not what you need. In business, if you have not done so already, choose strategic business advisers - people with experience that you can talk to. And make sure they are not your "yes" men. Again, just agreement is not what you need. Pardon the expression, but if you need a butt kicking, you need someone willing and able to give it to you.

It is also a very good idea to have legal counsel standing by. Now, especially for small businesses you might be thinking, wow, I certainly can't afford to pay an attorney just to ask a question. If I am going to start paying $2-300 an hour, it's got to be pretty serious. But getting counsel early can save you a world of hurt and a ton of money down the road. The most cost effective way to do that is through a pre-paid legal plan . There you will pay a low monthly fee, like insurance, and the attorneys will then be there when you need them to answer your questions or give advice. Sometimes you need logical or business advice, and sometimes you need legal advice. The two are not the same. And if you use it correctly - call early, call often, then you will find the value of such a plan will be significantly more than your investment.

Collateral damage

Now let's address another situation where you are not directly involved, but you were just friends or business associates with one or more of the parties that are now, perhaps not so peacefully, parting. There you are, caught in the middle (gee, another musical reference - I am telling you, they are everywhere). There are many questions one must answer here, especially when the breakup is less than amicable. Just like in a divorce, two people you were friends with are now sworn enemies. Who do you choose, him, or her? Do you have to choose? After all, on a very different level, and for very different reasons, you liked both. Often, this is, as the British would say, a sticky wicket, with no easy or clear answers. But there are at least sign posts along this dusty desert trail that you can rely on.

The most important thing to remember is, as you go through your life, professional as well as personal, you want to surround yourself with people you aspire to be like. It has been said, you are the average of the five people you hang out with most. This is typically true of income, character, and general success.

The Great Teacher said, a "tree is known by its fruit." With that, what is the fruit of the the people involved in the breakup. Are they slinging mud, trying to move on, or suffering a major breakdown? Whatever actions you see them taking, those actions speak to that individual's character. Nothing reveals someone's character as does tough times. Look around us in this difficult economic climate, and look at the people, who you would have thought would never do something underhanded, acting totally out of character - well, obviously, not totally out of character. It was just hidden before.

No one wants to go through such a time, but think of it this way. It will reveal, without a doubt, who your real friends are, so be grateful. Sometimes one party, and sometimes both, will begin slinging mud at the other, trying to denigrate the other. Now, admittedly, they may be reacting based on emotion. In their defense one may judge, "Well, they were hurt. How would you react if it were you?" And that may be true, but equally true is that they have at a minimum proven their volatility, and like a shaken vial of nitroglycerin, you don't want to be around when it explodes. When undisturbed, everything may seem fine. There is no apparent danger. But this individual has just proven they are unstable, uncontrolled. Alluding back to an ancient text again, "He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls." They are a danger to you, and a detriment to themselves.

The coup d'etat

Of all the things one does, probably the most revealing act of bad character is when that person stops hurling accusations, turns to you with a smile, and says, "If you are my friend," or, "If you love me," and then proceeds to define what you will do, making this the test of friendship and love. Like it or not, love them or not, they have already turned their vengeance on you ... with a smile. They have revealed that they are manipulative, and that they are actively manipulating you at that moment. It now does not mater if everything they are saying is gospel truth from the mouth of the Almighty Himself. Stop. Ask yourself, is that OK? Is the value of their approval, love, or friendship, real or perceived, so great so as to overcome the wrong they are hoisting upon you at that moment? (Didn't I warn you there were strong parallels to marriage?)

Prove all things

Going beyond the personalities involved, sometimes you have to try and adjudicate facts and situations. What was said above holds true, even if all the mud being slung is verifiable fact. But sometimes you may have to figure out if the facts are correct. You have to put on your detective hat. Sometimes, you will simply never get to the bottom, but you can again use signposts to get as close as possible.

Remember the adage, "a half truth is a whole lie". Proclaiming something, even showing evidence that something is true and verifiable, does not mean it is the whole truth, or that it is everything one needs to know to make a fair and informed judgment. A decision made with only partial information is rarely good, and never optimal. There are times we must make the best decision we can with the information we have, but when additional information is at our disposal, when we can go to the other party and get the other side of the story, but we don't ... we are guaranteeing a sub-optimal outcome, and probably making a poor, if not a stupid decision.

Also, remember that not everything, even though true, is material. That's why a judge will often trow out a piece of evidence. It may be true. It may influence our thinking one way or the other. But is it material? That is, does it directly impact the situation you are trying to judge? If not, you should do like the judge and throw it out.

Is the evidence tainted? What can taint facts you are being asked to judge? Do you have both sides of the story? Do you have verifiable, corroborating testimony or evidence?

Innocent parties do not take part in spontaneous public crucifixions or lynchings. Guilty parties can not bide the time to allow the truth to come to light, knowing that the truth, even if it is on their side, will not achieve their real purpose, which is usually vengeance, not justice.

Wow, not easy, is it? And the fact is, sometimes, you will never be able to gather or verify everything well enough. But the actions of the people involved are flashing red lights, revealing their character, and are always your best indicators or signposts of the direction you should go. Sadly, it often means you must part company with someone you liked well, someone you had hoped might be a catalyst of your own success, or someone who has a high degree of influence. Just be thankful their character was revealed before they were able to be in a position to destroy you along with the target of their rage, and be wary that, in the act of backing away, you may also become their target.

I hope this advice leads you to a better marriage , better personal relationships, and better business relationships, and that those relationships do not become the basis for yet another sad country song.

You've probably visited website that have really cool customer testimonials. Some may be written, while others are audios, or even videos. In this series I will show you a couple of handy tools that will help you get audio and video testimonials on your website or Facebook Fan Page quickly and easily. For either  process there are three steps.

• First, you have to capture the audio or video
• Second, you may need to edit the file
• Finally, you need to publish your file

Let's take it a step at a time, and let's just look at audio for now. We will touch on video, then we'll cover it in detail in another post.

If you are trying to do this all on your own without technical expertise, stick with audio, because it's just so easy, relatively speaking. So, let me start by recommending a tool I've relied on for years. It is extremely versatile, and you can actually be up and running within 30 minutes. The tool is called AudioAcrobat . I recommend AudioAcrobat for a host of reasons, and for the application we are talking about here - that is, getting customer testimonials on your website, it makes things super-easy.

For example, capturing those testimonials is as easy as having your customers make a call and leave what amounts to a voice mail message. Honest. With AudioAcrobat your customer calls a special phone number you give them (provided to you in your AudioAcrobat back office), record their testimony, and hang up. During their session (their phone call) they are able to listen to a playback, stop, re-record, or abandon their session without saving. AudioAcrobat then notifies you, and within a few minutes, assuming you accept their recording as is, you can publish it to your website.

Here, try it out now. Pick up your phone and dial (512) 827-0505. When prompted for a pin, dial 5067#. I'll wait...

Is that easy? Told you.

Now, how about publishing? Your AudioAcrobat back office gives you a publishing tool which provides the HTML code which you can simply copy and paste into your blog, your website, your Facebook Fan Page, or an email message. Here's a sample using the same practice line.

Get a 30 day free trial of AudioAcrobat!
The sample message above was recorded from a cell phone using the same practice line you just tried. So use our affiliate link, AudioAcrobat, and give 30 days. AudioAcrobat will provide free training and support, and you will have audio and video messages on your site in no time.

If you would like professional voice service to help you write and record your opening messages call 602-903-5797 and ask for "voice message services".

I said we would touch on video, then go into detail. So here we go. Video is slightly more complicated. Audio can be as well. For example, there may be cases where you want something more sophisticated. Perhaps you want to download the testimonials, and edit them, enhance them, put background music behind them, etc. In the case of video though, you have to have an external recording device, and naturally, your customer can't just make a phone call. But that does not mean it has to be difficult. In a latter post we will pick up the discussion right here.

You heard me right! Finally, at least a hint of good news. That is, if you are starting a home based business. According to my tax guy, Ron Mueller, the IRS will now allow you to deduct start up expenses up to $20 G's. That's four times the old amount. Of course, it does not help that the opportunities from 30fold will not get you close to that big of an expense, but, hey, you need more staples and paper clips, right? ... << MORE >>

The Bible is not even trying to deal with the questions of how much money makes you wealthy. It is trying to deal with an individual's attitude toward money and wealth. ... << MORE >>

The sad fact about identity theft is this. You can't prevent it. You can try. You can reduce your risk. You can take measures that reduce the chance you will become a victim. But you can not totally prevent it. That is quite logical. It's like the lock on your front door. It will slow thieves down. But if someone is determined to get in, they will.<< MORE >>

Our decisions, both the autopilot ones as well as the ones we make consciously, guide us through life, and are ultimately the thing that makes us end up where we are. Our "fate," if you will, is not so much something predetermined by outside forces in most cases, but by an accumulation of each tiny decision we make. The fact is, we would almost never imagine the outcome based on each of those individual decisions, but they fit together into the jigsaw puzzle that is our life. ... << MORE >>