How to Refresh Your Small Business Brand in 2013 - SmallBizLady

I love this time of year. ?An ending giving way to a beginning. A new chance to be everything you wanted to be. A clean slate.?An opportunity to start over.

However, you approach the New Year personally, when you have a business, more often than not, you?ve got your mind on the bottom line. You?re wondering how you can make that line bigger next year. What will you be known for next year? How will you increase your influence, expand your reach and make more of an impact?

Reflect ?Some people spend too much time looking forward, forgetting to look back. I have been guilty of this. Sometimes I think so much about what?s around the next corner that I fail to adequately reflect on all of the amazing things that have happened. That whole concept of being in the present? I?m terrible at that. But I have found that I have to take or make the time to reflect on the past, because that helps me decide what things I want to keep doing, or, stop doing.The year?s end is the perfect time to devise an action plan to refresh your business brand for the coming year. Here are three ways to make that process easy.

So what happened to you this year? What were your major accomplishments? What were your mistakes? Did you launch a new product or service for your business? How did it go? Did you reach out to the media more, or try to land more speaking opportunities to get your name out there? Were you pleased with the results?

Reflect on everything ? the good and especially the bad. ?Remember those good things that made you feel like your business was truly achieving its mission? Do more of those. Do them in a bigger way. And the bad things ? the products that flopped, the concepts that didn?t take off? Either refine them or chalk them up as a loss and move on. Don?t beat yourself up for trying something new.

Aspire ?I?ve recently started reading Grant Cardone?s book The 10x Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure. He advises that business owners stretch themselves and expand their thinking for what is possible in business. Instead of setting smaller goals so that you will be to attain them, he says you should set unrealistic goals, you should be unreasonable and you should ultimately push yourself past points you thought were imaginable. Because there?s something pretty amazing about the human spirit, we often can do exponentially more than we give ourselves credit for.

So what is it that you?ve dared to dream of for your business? Are you ready to cross that 6 or 7 figure mark? Go for it! Why not set that as a goal for 2013. Because once you start thinking big, you?ll automatically have to start ACTING big to catch up with your thoughts. As entrepreneurial mind Dan Sullivan has said, once you master 10x thinking, you?ll begin seeing opportunities all around you ? opportunities that you never even noticed before because your thinking wasn?t big enough to compute how massive growth opportunities could factor into your success.

Create ?At the end of the day, if you want to refresh your business brand in 2013 and hit the market in a way that will make your customers take notice, you have to get to work. You have to go into your creative zone, your lab, your atelier or what have you ? and create something new. You may come up with a new way of doing something, a new way of communicating yourself, or a new way of packaging your products. Creating may mean devising a new event, creating a complementary industry organization, finally starting your blog, or hiring a new team member that can help you offer your clients more. But whatever it means to you, get ready to roll up your sleeves and work. Make your list of what you want to accomplish, but don?t forget to implement.

To recap, reflect on your past year, stretch yourself with massive goals, and roll up your sleeves to create something brand new. Your brand will receive the ultimate refresh and your customers ? whether they love or hate the changes you?ve made ? will be forced to take notice.

Amanda Littlejohn How to Refresh Your Small Business Brand in 2013Amanda Miller Littlejohn is a former journalist turned business coach, blogger, idea oven and award-winning PR practitioner at ?Mopwater PR. She helps entrepreneurs brainstorm new business models and fresh approaches to personal branding through her signature Brand Brainstorm Sessions. Amanda blogs at?Mopwater PR + Media Notes?and tweets from?@amandamogul.

Day2 How to Refresh Your Small Business Brand in 2013This article is from the SmallBizLady special blog series: 31 Ways to Boost Your Small Business in 2013. #Boost2013

About Melinda Emerson

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America's leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestseller author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. Her latest ebook, How To Become a Social Media Ninja; 101 Ways to Dominate Your Competition Online was released in 2012.

Source: http://succeedasyourownboss.com/12/2012/how-to-refresh-your-small-business-brand-in-2013/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-refresh-your-small-business-brand-in-2013

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Vol. 4 Issue 49 ? Article: 'Do Informational Interviews Have a Place ...

ELTWeekly Vol. 4 Issue#49 | December 3, 2012 |?ISSN 0975-3036

Speaking skills?? especially in stressful situations ? matter.

Most quality Business English and VESL (Vocational English as a Second Language) programs provide extensive training and practice? in both short and long job interviews. Job interviews are stressful ? especially for?English language learners.? In fact, many adult, community college, and university ESL programs also include mock job interviews in the curriculum so ESL students can learn how to better answer simple and difficult questions. After all, many career experts recommend native speakers practice and practice again for these high-stakes interviews. It behooves?English language learners?to practice, practice, and practice some more for job interviews.

During these difficult economic times, however,? Business English trainers, advanced ESL (English as a Second Language), teachers and VESL (Vocational English as a Second Language) job coordinators should focus on an even wider range of interviewing skills. Many people have to interview co-workers, customers, strangers, and even more senior professionals at work.?Speaking skills?? in particular interview skills ? matter.

Informational interviews ? where future professionals ask questions to working professionals that hold a desirable position ? achieves this goal ? and a few more.?? Informational interviews deserve far more attention in English language programs, but especially in Business English programs and VESL classes since informational interviews provide practical opportunities to develop business contacts and remain a savvy? job hunting tactic.

A common practice in the United States in many white-collar professions, informational interviews allow students (or individuals seeking a career change) to meet more successful and senior professionals in a field. From scheduling an appointment and preparing questions to? collecting information on common business practices, this professional exercise tests the fluency and language skills.? Informational interviews also expand their personal network of valuable business contacts. Sometimes these 20-30 minute interviews, often at offices, offer surprising insights into the typical work experiences and best workplace practices. Topics can range from the biographic to industry trends.? Best of all, informational interviews can also lead to job leads, internships, and even new jobs.

This real world assignment can work with high-intermediate and advanced Business English clients. In fact, asking clients or students to find, research, and conduct an informational interview requires a certain level of fluency and confidence ? outside the classroom. This challenging, authentic class assignment requires?English language learners?to perform a vital workplace skill, respond in real time to a potential supervisor, and ask appropriate questions.

What are appropriate questions? Here are a few classic informational interview questions:

  • How did you first enter the field? Why?
  • How has the industry changed since you began your career?
  • Can you describe a typical day at work?
  • What are some trends that you are watching?
  • What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
  • What question should I have asked that I didn?t ask today?

These simple questions often provide illuminating glimpses into the professional lives of successful professionals.

I recommend requiring a ?trip report? or? a presentation to show the results of the informational interview with fellow Business English students,. This reflective exercise requires students to concisely summarize their interview.? Learning how to conduct an informational interview is a crucial skill that they can use over and over again during their business careers. Many graduate programs strongly recommend (and sometime mandate) their students conduct regular informational interviews.

From my perspective,? adding? information interviews to Business English classes and VESL programs seems extraordinarily sensible.? It also qualifies as an effective use of precious instructional time. Practical and popular, this multidimensional assignment consistently engages students and provides surprising insights in a university setting. I?ve been requiring informational interviews for several years in my university courses for both native and non-native English speakers. Students consistently rate the informational interview highest among the course assignments ? and often praise it on course evaluations.

Therefore, I?m quite confident that quality Business English and VESL programs can clearly benefit from adding this real-world, authentic task to their curriculum too.

Ask more. Know more. Share more.
Create Compelling Conversations ? in English!
www.CompellingConversations.com.

Source: http://www.eltweekly.com/elt-newsletter/2012/12/vol-4-issue-49-article-do-informational-interviews-have-a-place-in-business-english-programs-by-eric-roth/

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Israel moves to build 3,000 new settlement homes

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Israel responded swiftly Friday to U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state, revealing it will build 3,000 more homes for Jews on Israeli-occupied lands that the world body overwhelmingly said belong to the Palestinians.

The plans also include future construction in a strategic area of the West Bank where critics have long warned that Jewish settlements would kill hopes for a viable Palestinian state.

Israel's moves served as a harsh reminder to Palestinians ? euphoric over the U.N. upgrade ? that while they now have a state on paper, most of it remains very much under Israeli control.

"This is a doomsday scenario," Daniel Seidemann of Ir Amim, a group that promotes coexistence in Jerusalem, said of the building plans.

Israel's decision was bound to embarrass the United States, which was among just nine countries in the 193-member General Assembly to vote against accepting Palestine as a nonmember observer state.

Accelerated settlement construction could also set a more confrontational tone as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas weighs his next moves.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland criticized the Israeli announcement. "These actions are counterproductive and make it harder to resume direct negotiations or achieve a two-state solution," she said.

Friday's decision was taken by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and eight senior Cabinet ministers, according to the Israeli news website Ynet.

The plans include 3,000 new apartments in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, as well as preparations for new construction in other large West Bank settlements, including Maaleh Adumim, near east Jerusalem, said an Israeli government official.

Among the projects is an expansion of Maaleh Adumim, known as E-1, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the decision with reporters.

Successive U.S. administrations have pressured Israel not to build in E-1 because it would effectively cut off east Jerusalem from the West Bank, and split the northern part of the territory from the southern part. Israel has said in the past it envisions 3,500 apartments there.

"E-1 will be the death of the two-state solution," said Seidemann, referring to the establishment of a state of Palestine alongside Israel. "If the pronouncements are to be treated seriously, we are months away from the implementation of E-1. This is very serious and very problematic."

Tzipi Livni, Israel's former foreign minister and chief negotiator with the Palestinians, warned that "the decision to build thousands of housing units as punishment to the Palestinians only punishes Israel ... (and) only isolates Israel further."

Since 1967, the number of Israelis living in settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem has risen to half a million, compared with 2.7 million Palestinians in those areas, and continued construction makes partition of the land increasingly unlikely.

The new U.N. observer state status could enable the Palestinians to pursue possible war crimes charges against Israel at the International Criminal Court over settlement construction on war-won land.

In his speech to the U.N. on Thursday, Abbas said he would coordinate with sympathetic countries and act responsibly, suggesting he would not seek confrontation with Israel.

"It is our right to get the membership of the ICC, but we don't want to go to it now," Abbas told reporters in New York on Friday, before the Israeli decision on new settlements became known. "We will not go unless we are attacked."

Following Israel's decision to accelerate settlement building, however, Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said the Palestinian leadership was studying its options. He would not elaborate.

Erekat accused Netanyahu of "defying the whole international community and insisting on destroying the two-state solution."

The U.N. endorsed a Palestinian state in territories Israel captured in 1967. Abbas has said he is ready to negotiate the final borders with Israel, provided Netanyahu drops his refusal to use the 1967 lines as a starting point.

Abbas asserted Friday that a Palestinian demand for a settlement freeze ahead of negotiations still stands.

"I'm ready for negotiations," Abbas said, rejecting Netanyahu's portrayal of the demand for a settlement freeze as a precondition. "Is stopping settlement activities a precondition?" he said. "There are 15 Security Council resolutions that say settlements are an obstacle to peace."

On the Israeli side, compromise on settlements seemed unlikely. Netanyahu is seeking re-election two months from now at the helm of a Likud party turned more hawkish since primaries earlier this week and in an electoral alliance with an ultra-nationalist pro-settler party.

Abbas returns Sunday to the West Bank, where Palestinians are preparing a hero's welcome. The U.N. bid has given a boost to his standing, which has been suffering after years of failed peace efforts with Israel. At the same time, the rival Islamic militant group Hamas in Gaza has scored points domestically, after an eight-day cross-border conflict with Israel earlier this month.

Abbas aides say his top priority is to reconcile with Hamas, which seized Gaza from him in 2007 and has been running its own government there since then. Abbas heads the Palestinian Authority, a self-rule government that administers 38 percent of the West Bank, while he has no say in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

The U.N. vote drew mixed reactions among Palestinians trying to reconcile global recognition with the limitations imposed by Israeli control, including border restrictions in Gaza.

Shahira Taleb, a 45-year-old Gaza housewife who has been unable to visit family in the West Bank because of an Israeli travel ban between the territories, was skeptical.

"I don't know if it's something that will change our life or is just a new paper added to thousands of papers issued over the past years in support of our cause," she said, standing in line at a bakery.

But Talal Jafari, a 47-year-old shopkeeper in the West Bank city of Hebron, said for Palestinians, every victory counts. "The entire world supports us, and that by itself is great for us," he said.

___

Laub reported from Ramallah. Associated Press writer Mohammed Daraghmeh in Ramallah, West Bank, Nasser Shiyoukhi in Hebron and Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City contributed reporting.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israel-moves-build-3-000-settlement-homes-000318394.html

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Oliver Stone, Benicio del Toro visit Puerto Rico

Film director Oliver Stone talks during a conference with actor Benicio Del Toro and students from the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. Del Toro didn't wait long to collect on a favor that Stone owed him for working extra hours on the set of his most recent movie, "Savages," released this year: a trip to Del Toro's native Puerto Rico, which Stone hadn't visited since the early 1960s. Both are in the U.S. Caribbean territory to raise money for the Art Museum of Puerto Rico, which is hosting its annual movie festival and will honor Stone's movies. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)

Film director Oliver Stone talks during a conference with actor Benicio Del Toro and students from the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. Del Toro didn't wait long to collect on a favor that Stone owed him for working extra hours on the set of his most recent movie, "Savages," released this year: a trip to Del Toro's native Puerto Rico, which Stone hadn't visited since the early 1960s. Both are in the U.S. Caribbean territory to raise money for the Art Museum of Puerto Rico, which is hosting its annual movie festival and will honor Stone's movies. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)

Puerto Rican actor Benicio Del Toro pauses during a conference with Oliver Stone and students at the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. Del Toro didn't wait long to collect on a favor that Stone owed him for working extra hours on the set of his most recent movie, "Savages", released this year: a trip to his native Puerto Rico, which Stone hadn't visited since the early 1960s. Both are in the U.S. Caribbean territory to raise money for the Art Museum of Puerto Rico, which is hosting its annual movie festival and will honor Stone's movies. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)

Puerto Rican actor Benicio Del Toro, left, and film director Oliver Stone talk during a conference with students at the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. Del Toro didn't wait long to collect on a favor that Stone owed him for working extra hours on the set of his most recent movie, "Savages", released this year: a trip to his native Puerto Rico, which Stone hadn't visited since the early 1960s. Both are in the U.S. Caribbean territory to raise money for the Art Museum of Puerto Rico, which is hosting its annual movie festival and will honor Stone's movies. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)

Puerto Rican actor Benicio Del Toro, left, and film director Oliver Stone give a conference with students at the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. Del Toro didn't wait long to collect on a favor that Stone owed him for working extra hours on the set of his most recent movie, "Savages", released this year: a trip to his native Puerto Rico, which Stone hadn't visited since the early 1960s. Both are in the U.S. Caribbean territory to raise money for the Art Museum of Puerto Rico, which is hosting its annual movie festival and will honor Stone's movies. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)

(AP) ? Benicio Del Toro didn't wait long to collect on a favor that Oliver Stone owed him for working extra hours on the set of his most recent movie, "Savages," released this year.

The favor? A trip to Del Toro's native Puerto Rico, which Stone hadn't visited since the early 1960s.

"I told him, you owe me one," Del Toro said with a smile as he recalled the conversation during a press conference Friday in the U.S. territory, where he and Stone are helping raise money for one of the island's largest art museums.

Del Toro, wearing jeans, a black jacket and a black T-shirt emblazoned with the name of local reggaeton singer Tego Calderon, waved to the press as he was introduced.

"Hello, greetings. Is this a press conference?" he quipped as he and Stone awaited questions.

Both men praised each other's work, saying they would like to work with each other again.

"I deeply admire him as an actor, the way he thinks, the way he expresses himself," Stone said. "Of all the actors I've worked with, he's the most interesting."

Stone said Del Toro always delivers surprises while acting, even when it's as something as subtle as certain gestures between dialogue.

"I think Benicio is the master of keeping you watching," he said.

Stone said he enjoys meeting up with Del Toro off-set because he's one of the few actors in Hollywood who can talk about something other than movies.

"He is very interested in the world around him," Stone said, adding that the conversations sometimes center around politics and other topics.

Del Toro declined to answer when asked what he thought about Puerto Rico's referendum earlier this month, which aimed to determine the future of the island's political status. He said the results did not seem to point to a clear-cut outcome.

Del Toro then said he would like the island's movie business to grow, especially in a way that would encourage learning.

"I'm talking about movies in an educational sense, as a way to discover other parts of the world," he said. "Create a film class. You'll see; kids won't skip it."

Del Toro also shared his thoughts on being a father after having a daughter with Kimberly Stewart in August 2011.

He said the girl is learning how to swim and is discovering the world around her.

"She has her own personality," Del Toro said. "She's not her mother. She's not me."

Both Del Toro and Stone are expected to remain in Puerto Rico through the weekend to raise money for the Art Museum of Puerto Rico, which is hosting its annual movie festival and will honor Stone's movies.

Museum curator Juan Carlos Lopez Quintero said the money raised will be used to enhance the museum's permanent collection, especially with Puerto Rican paintings from the 19th century and early 20th century.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-11-30-Puerto%20Rico-Oliver%20Stone/id-137bb089454c40fca00bc71323cd4bab

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Online Marketing 101: How To Generate Traffic With Free Methods ...

57561701457994075 iB4P8hCC c Online Marketing 101: How To Generate Traffic With Free MethodsWhen you think about it, it?s quite easy to learn how to generate traffic with free methods. Since it takes money to make money, this is something that online business and website owners will benefit from, especially since they can allot their budget on something else instead of spending it to gain visitors.

Easier, less hassle-free ways are always available, but if you?re really passionate about increasing your site?s traffic without spending too much, you will be able to learn how to generate traffic with free methods in no time. It may take a lot of patience and hard work, but the flow of visitors to your site will prove how much all that is worth it.

There?s no use in denying the beauty of not having to spend a single cent on generating traffic to your website, and although advertisements seem tempting, you won?t need them after you?ve mastered how to generate traffic with free methods. Let?s get to know some of these free methods, shall we?

Online groups, communities, and forums are your best friends when it comes to generating traffic for free. And since these websites already have a specific group of people following the same topic, genre, or niche, it?s easy to find one that suits your website?s niche. Brave the waves of online groups, communities, and forums until you find the ones that are related to your website and start from there. Be active, be friendly, be accessible, and never ever forget to post a link to your website!

Another free way to generate traffic would be to promote your website through e-mail. And you can do that by asking people to sign-up to your newsletters for free. It?s a great way to attract potential customers by sending them articles that you?ve written, catalogues of all your products, updates, and sneek peeks of what they can expect from you.

The possibilities are endless when you?re trying to find ways on how to generate traffic with free methods. Besides the two I mentioned above, you can visit other websites and offer to exchange links with them. The goal is to have your link posted on as many websites as you can exchange links with. Having your link exposed like that makes way for more visitors and customers. And what?s great about exchanging links is that you also gain friends along the way, which can help you promote your site in the future.

And, don?t forget about the best free method, which is filling your site with well-written articles with keywords or keyword phrases that people search for. This way, your website will always be part of the search engine results. Aside from posting those articles on your site, you can also submit the other articles you?ve written to free content submission sites, just remember to leave a link at the end of each article.

If you take the time to learn how to generate traffic with free methods, you won?t end up empty handed. Instead, you will be overwhelmed by the flow of visitors flocking to your website. Keep in mind that nothing is easy, and that it takes some patience and dedication on your part to see wonderful end results.

To Your Success,

Signature2 Online Marketing 101: How To Generate Traffic With Free Methods

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Source: http://appledaniels.com/online-marketing-101-generate-traffic-free-methods/

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