Obituary to.....

...... Common Sense

One of my Facebook friends commented on a post that I have taken the liberty of reproducing exerpts from below:

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, life isn't always fair, and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they themselves failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Panadol, sun lotion or a Band Aid to a student , but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten commandments became contraband, churches became businesses, and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust;his wife, Discretion; his daughter, responsibility; and his son,Reason.He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else is to Blame, and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

All credits for thinking of this and writing remain with the author, Croz. The complete post can be found by clicking here.

Dealing with an underperforming VA

I'll tell you straight off the bat - I don't have the answer. But I hope one or some of my readers do.

You hire a VA to accomplish specific tasks that you have set out in a document and discussed on the phone. Then they don't deliver - they make excuses - everything else in their business seems to be a priority but the work they have accepted payment to accomplish for you; when they do deliver it is riddled with mistakes. You tell them how you feel, they admit they are not performing well and then nothing changes. What can you do ? Fire them yes, but they have almost 1000 of your hard-earned dollars. At the same time you are spending as much time chasing and cajoling as if you had done the work yourself almost 8 weeks ago (their deadline was six weeks ago !!!).

With 3 000 friends on Facebook and access to thousands of others via my groups as well as hundreds of followers on Twitter, I could potentially crucify the person and their business in an instant were I to choose to do so. And here is another point - I know of other people who have had the same issues with this person and their team but have kept quiet rather than going public because if any of us did ..... we risk being seen as not nice and lose potential clients and partners.

Feels like a lose whatever you do situation.

Does anyone have any similar experiences ? any helpful suggestions ?

Twttrlist

I just checked out Seth Godin’s TwttrList. It's a really fast way to see who has been tweeting about a subject of interest to you.
You can filter tweets by: by anyone, by me, by a user, my favorites.










I checked out nomadic entrepreneurs and lifetsyle entrepreneurs since this is an area I am researching at the moment for my new business helping nomadic entrepreneurs earn a living wherever they are in the world.

So you think you own your website ???

I read a seriously worrying post on Karyn Greenstreet's blog today about how to be absolutely sure that you own the website you hired someone to produce for you.

She was talking in the context of US law but I think we should all read her post and the associated articles and then go and find out what the applicable law is in the country where we do business.

But here's another thought: what law applies ? The law of the country where your business is based or the law of the country where the web designer is based ? and if the latter then what happens if they outsource to a designer based in yet another country - given the extensive use of Elance for outsourcing these days ???

Karyn's post is: Who own's your website ?

Have U got your unique Facebook URL ?

Did you know you can now set up a personal URL for your facebook profile that's so much easier to give as a link to others to help them find you? Mine is: http://facebook.com/gillianpritchett

To get yours go to http://facebook.com/username. Facebook will make some suggestions but you can choose your own. You can also get a unique URL for your pages (if it has over 1,000 fans !!).

Don't hang around on this one otherwise you someone else may take your name or business name !

How to shine as a radio host

A few weeks ago I did the Insider Tips on How to shine as a radio guest program by Lorraine Cohen. My motive was partly that I was developing a series of teleseminars on various aspects of starting and growing a business and had decided to present the teleclasses in an interview format and I had been invited by Lisa Hartwell as a guest on her radio show.

The program, Insider Tips on How to shine as a radio guest by broadcaster and life coach,Lorraine Cohen is really excellent and I can whole heartedly recommend it. The next program kicks off on May 26th. To read more click here.

There is a F.R.E.E. 60 minute preview call on Wednesday May 6th 2009, 6-7 pm EST/3-4 pm PST that you may wish to sign up for.

As both a host and guest, Lorraine has participated in over 150 programs that have been heard and downloaded by so many people around the world. Contributing as both host and guest has taught her so mcuh about how best to deliver a message that is informative, distinctive, and most of all, memorable.

If you're serious about expanding your market by positioning yourself as a radio guest expert, this program is for you.

If you follow the 5-week program you'll learn tips to:

• Distinguish yourself as a great guest so that hosts will want to invite you back again and again

• Develop confidence in talking about your passions

• Avoid some common mistakes to create raving listeners

• Generate income and build your opt- in lists

• Create instant connections with any audience

What Susan Boyle can teach us

Last Saturday I had not heard of Susan Boyle. I had been to the Greek Orthodox church with a friend and we were eating a late meal - like at 1.30am - accompanied by a couple of Ouzos. The waitress asks if I am from England and tells me about Susan Boyle who had amazed the judges on a talent show in the UK.

I checked her out on YouTube when I got home - and wow - she has an amazing voice. It truly brought tears to my eyes.

Lessons for people starting out in business ?

- believe in your dream
- take steps to make your dream come true
- don't be put off by what other people might think or say

And lessons for anyone : don't pre-judge and be humble enough to admit that you had prejudiced or just plain wrong.

Watch the video clip of Susan Boyle - not just to enjoy her voice but to see how the faces of the judges change as they realise they had erroneous, pre-conceived ideas about her and how they are humbled by her.

So what is your dream ? What would it take to make your dream come true ?