Tag Archives for " Microsoft Office Live Small Business "

8 Update of My Free Social Media Ebook

Social media and online marketing tools and tactics are an evolving lot. What was true last month may have a new twist this month.

With that in mind I am happy to report that I’ve once again teamed up with the Microsoft Office Live Small Business team to bring you the revised and freshly updated – Let’s Talk: Social Media for Small Business.

While the reasons why a small business might jump into the social media fray have remained fundamentally the same, the how of it all has evolved substantially since version one. In this update, I’ve added a lot more information about Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and also included some thoughts on managing the social media beast, including my own social media system.

Thanks to Microsoft for making this free guide available again. You can grab a copy from the Office Live Small Business site or here.

13 The Crowd Spoke and Was Heard

A week or so ago I publicized my partnering with Microsoft Office Live Small Business to produce a primer on using social media for small business.

While readers appreciated the guide there were many comments on the post that didn’t appreciate the process of registering and logging in to the Microsoft Live ID system in order to download the ebook. In a demonstration that social media works – a conversation was started and the course was altered because of it – you can now download the free ebook without registration or login. Way to go crowd – way to go Microsoft!

In my ongoing effort to help small businesses understand, prioritize and use social media tools, I teamed with Microsoft Office Live Small Business on a new very practical e-book called Let’s Talk: Social Media for Small Businesses. It is available for frictionless download here

9 Calling All Home Based Business Owners

Was a time when home based meant – “not really a business” but, oh how times and technology and lifestyles change. Today home based often means, choice, family, hip, fireplace, dog, freedom, serious income and a host of other very cool things.

That’s why I love that my friend Rich Sloan of StartUpNation has put so much energy into creating the HomeBased100 competition sponsored by Microsoft Office Live Small Business.

Look, if you’ve got a home based business go enter this competition and score yourself some potentially serious credibility and exposure.

Just look at these categories and tell me that this is not a fun contest

* Best Financial Performers
* Most Innovative
* Boomers Back in Business
* Greenest
* Yummiest
* Wackiest
* Grungiest
* Recession Busters
* Most Slacker Friendly
* Most Glamorous

The only category that size and performance really matter is the financial one so really anybody can enter.

You can enter your business until midnight Pacific Time on September 30, 2008. Throughout October, winners will be judged by StartupNation and a panel of judges who are each passionate about home-based business and the Top Ten categories highlighted in this year’s competition. Winners will be announced in mid-November, 2008.

Winners of the Home-Based 100 find themselves at the center of a media storm that includes recognition on national and local TV, radio, in newspapers and magazines, and on some of the largest, most influential websites on the web, MSN and StartupNation among them.

The judges’ decision-making process (did I mention I’m a judge?) will be influenced by the following factors:

* How well your business fits the category (or secondary category) for which you entered
* The quality and completeness of the description about your business and the case you make for it. Your passion, achievements, creativity, integrity and/or humor may be instrumental factors depending upon which category(s) you entered
* The popularity of your entry based on number of popular votes received

Here’s where you enter the competition that celebrates America’s best home based businesses and the people behind them.

Here’s a list of last year’s winners and high vote getters so you can get a feel for what you’re up against.

By the way sending me product samples and free services will not influence my vote but it may help the overall spread of good karma – you know, if you’re into that kind of thing.

3 Start-up Success Tour

Next month I am participating in a workshop tour called Vision to Venture – The Event for Women Entrepreneurs. The 5 city tour is sponsored by Microsoft Office Live Small Business and will involve a day long presentation of strategies for start-up success.

I will share the stage with my friends Susan Solovic Wilson of SBTV.com, Rich Sloan of StartUpNation.com, and Karen Dayan of Microsoft.

I sure hope to meet some Duct Tape Marketing Women Entrepreneurs in each stop on the tour.

Tour cities and dates include:
• St. Louis – April 2
• San Diego – April 15
• Miami – April 22
• Austin – April 24
• Seattle – May 9

The event is $59 and you can sign up here.