Pregnant Woman Finds A Strange Way To Make Money Online

Madison Avenue Calling
CanadianMedsWorld.com
Holly Nill-McKay

http://www.fetalgreetings.com

When Holly was pregnant a few years back in 1999, she looked for a unique way to tell her friends and family of her pregnancy. Making phone call after phone call to every cousin, aunt and uncle was a daunting task, but she still wanted to share her news with everyone. She hunted through stores and on the Internet and all she could find were birth announcements. Thus, Holly's idea for Fetal Greetings was born. She wanted to create cards where a little embryo baby could make the announcement of the upcoming birth for her.

She began by asking a friend from high school, who had a talent for drawing, to draw some pictures of fetal babies in different settings (i.e. sonogram, mother's belly). She was most pleased with the results and the drawings came out exactly as Holly had wanted. Holly proceeded to create the sayings for all the different cards. In June of 2000, Holly took her business online with http://www.fetalgreetings.com

Holly's business is run completely online and she takes orders via a secure website or by phone.

Holly designed her own website but worked with a webmaster until recently. She is pleased to now have complete control of her site now and to have the ability to make changes anytime, which she does almost everyday.

Holly attributes her online success to networking, gathering current online business information and analyzing the competition.

"Networking is vital," says Holly. She belongs to several online groups, including MyWoman2Woman and Creative Enterprises. "It's invaluable to interact with others who are in your same boat of running a home-based business," Holly says emphatically, "You learn from each other's mistakes and successes and get to form a real bond with people you otherwise wouldn't have when running a home business by yourself."

Finally, Holly stresses the need to check in to see what your competition is up to. Always know who is ranking higher on the search engines than you and why. Submit to search engines regularly and test out new keywords and phrases.

Running a business from home with two small children at home all day does have it's challenges. Holly mainly works during her children's naps and when they go to bed at night.
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Effective Marketing on a Shoestring Budget

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CanadianMedsWorld.com

Many business owners would give their left arm to have the same brand recognition as Oprah, Microsoft, McDonald's, Starbucks or Amazon.com. But you don't need the marketing budgets of these behemoths to promote your company and get your piece of the pie. A creative approach to self-promotion will put you face to face with your prospects and, properly executed, can help you become a well-known name.

The first step is to focus your marketing efforts - otherwise known as target marketing. A topic that has nearly been discussed to death, target marketing is essential for just about every company, no matter how large or small. You don't see advertisements for Oprah's show on ESPN because that's not her target market. And while a household name like McDonald's appeals to almost everyone, their advertising efforts tend to be targeted toward specific marketing trends. Their latest marketing campaign is focused on the youth market that, these days, have much more of their own money to spend than the youth market of yesteryear.

If you are faced with a limited marketing budget, you must be creative and persistent in your efforts. Here are a few ideas that are alternatives to the more traditional, higher-priced marketing approaches that will get your company some exposure and won't break your budget.

Networking:

We're all familiar with print, radio and television advertising. And as the innovations of cable and the Internet have become more prominent in our lives, infomercials, banner ads and other Internet advertising avenues have been added to the mix. However, if you really want to connect with your target market, getting out and meeting them through networking is probably the best way to do it.

Joining professional organizations such as your local chamber of commerce or civic organizations such as your area Rotary club will put you in touch with the movers and shakers of your community. These people are likely to become colleagues that you can learn from as you watch them grow professionally and you watch your company grow as well. And while they may be able to connect you with potential clients and opportunities, you should approach these relationships prepared to give without motive. If you join these organizations with a "what's in it for me?" attitude, you will likely be spotted as such and left out in the cold.

Partnerships and Sponsorships:

Another great way to not only get your name in front of your prospects, but also learn more about them, is through partnerships and sponsorships.

When a community is unfamiliar with your company or organization, one of the easiest ways to build trust is through a partnership with a more established and successful company. But keep in mind you're going to need to be offering a product or service that is so useful to their customer base that your partner is willing to risk their reputation by endorsing you. If you don't partner with a well-established firm, at least partner with a non-competitor that offers services similar to yours. If you sell shoes, and your partner company sells mortgages, that won't make sense to the customer and will raise their suspicion of you.

Supporting community and civic organizations through sponsorship is another way to reach your audience. Your efforts can range from the local little league baseball team to a fundraiser for any sort of worthy cause. From the local chapter of the American Heart Association to an organization that raises money for any needy population in the area - abused women and children, the homeless, the mentally ill, disaster victims, etc. - this is a two-for-one opportunity for your company. A chance for you to satisfy your civic conscience by getting involved with that organization that you've always wanted to volunteer with, and you get exposure for your company at the same time.

A Trade Show on the Cheap:

Trade shows are the ultimate in target and network marketing. But when you begin to calculate the cost of you trade show display, the fees for attending the show, the cost of travel to the show, hotel accommodations and the cost of someone to run the booth, you may be ready to scratch this marketing tool off of your list.

But trade show attendance is crucial to building brand recognition and getting ideas from colleagues and competitors. One area where you can curb your trade show attendance is in the price of the trade show display. But be careful - your exhibit will say a lot about you and your company; you want to save money, but not at the expense of quality. Most companies offer low-cost trade show display options, such as table top displays. They are easily transported and assembled, and typically range between four and eight feet in size. While the more elaborate custom trade show displays can cost several thousands of dollars, you can purchase the table top versions for only a few hundred dollars.

Above and Beyond Customer Service:

Before you roll your eyes, because we've all heard the speech about providing outstanding customer service, keep in mind that these days excellent customer service is an experience that is few and far between. Everyone talks about it, but nobody's doing it. So, why don't you be one of the few who actually walk the talk? Ask for customer feedback - and actually act on the feedback you're given. Do something extra for the customers who do a lot of business with you. Recognize and thank your customers during the holiday season. Look for other opportunities to extend beyond the customer's expectations, because going the extra mile is an investment in your company's future success.

Economical marketing can be easily achieved - it just requires some innovation and concentrated effort. Start with these ideas and others are sure to come forth - and then you can expand your budget to include more traditional marketing if you want.

---

About the Author: Mat Kelly is the president of ExhibitDEAL, the Original Exhibit Wholesaler specializing in trade show displays and accessories. The company has options to fit every budget, and accessories to enhance your trade show exhibit space. For info, visit: http://www.exhibitdeal.com/.

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Tapping into mommy market

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When the new Stroller Strides exercise class for moms debuted at Davie Park on Wednesday, Meaghan Hinckley was right there.

She wanted to meet other mothers, get out of the house and learn a new workout. And she wanted to enjoy what other exercise programs don't offer: a chance to keep baby Braeden by her side. Nestled in his stroller, the 3-month-old even became a part of her workout, as Hinckley held onto the stroller handle during lunges and pushed her child while power walking.

"You're able to exercise with your child, and that's important," Hinckley said.

The new class is a part of a burgeoning effort in south Mecklenburg to appeal to moms for both their bucks and brainpower.

Throughout the region, women are signing up for Mom Corps, a national effort in Charlotte and other cities to match stay-at-home moms with temporary work in their professional fields. In the Blakeney retail center, a cluster of new and relocated children's-themed businesses are opening -- from a salon to a gym. And in Ballantyne Village, entrepreneur Candace Khashman is banking on a children's yoga studio, expected to open this spring, to draw customers into her children's clothing store.

"Moms are looking for something to interact with their children," said Khashman, owner of Peek-A-Boo Couture, about her plan to add yoga. "It's soothing, it's calming, and they're not into watching television."

More families, more opportunities

The influx of families into south Mecklenburg makes the region ripe for such mom-based efforts, businesses say.Since the Mom Corps initiative came to Charlotte six months ago, more than 500 candidates have signed on and submitted rйsumйs for the chance to work -- including many from south Meck -- responding to fliers posted in coffee shops and word of mouth.

"I do have a huge database from that area," said April Whitlock, regional vice president overseeing the Charlotte effort.

After moms, even stay-at-home dads and grandparents, join Mom Corps for free, they're eligible for paid, temporary work in various fields. That includes accounting, marketing and the nonprofit sector.

"That area of town is a great candidate pool for us because there's so many newcomers," Whitlock said.

"The trailing spouse syndrome is a great Mom Corps candidate. Someone who has always worked, who had to work for financial reasons, then they move here, and they don't need two incomes to live here."

An upcoming Bureau of Labor Statistics study to be released next month shows more mothers dropping out of the work force to stay home with children. The trend cuts across income levels -- not just with wealthy families.

Previously reported findings show the work force participation rate of mothers of infants fell about 8 percentage points to 51 percent in 2004, compared with 1997. And Charlotte has a higher percentage of two-parent households with one parent working and the other not: 22.5 percent, compared with the 15.4 percent national average

Hits and misses

As businesses try to find the right formula to reach this group, some efforts don't always work.

The "Movie Mom" program at the Arboretum 12 moviehouse and its sister theaters in Charlotte ended last year due to lack of interest, said Marie McClaflin, marketing director for Consolidated Theaters, based in Charlotte. Organizers thought the midmorning showings, dim lights to facilitate breast feedings and low volume to protect infant ears would appeal to parents, McClaflin said. The program is very successful in other cities, she said.

Still, there's more to come. Belly Elan, a maternity boutique at Promenade on Providence, is looking to start educational classes in the spring, featuring lactation consultants and pediatricians coming in to answer questions, co-owner Casey Prince said.

Jennifer Sanderson, who launched the Stroller Strides franchise program at Davie Park, plans to offer more classes soon at Carolina Place Mall in Pineville. It's a workout rigorous enough to get mom Debbie Messner joking that she wouldn't be able to pick up daughter Julia, 11 months, afterwards. Still, Messner beamed -- and Julia smiled back -- when mom skipped by her stroller during an exercise move.

"She likes to watch people," Messner said. "This is something she'll have fun doing also. And meeting other moms is always a plus."

Want to Know More?

• Stroller Strides is holding another free exercise class at 9:30 a.m. Friday for moms and their babies in strollers at the conference center at William R. Davie Park, 4635 Pineville-Matthews Road. Paid classes run about $59 per month, depending on the membership package.

Details: www.strollerstrides.net/charlotte.

• The next Mom Corps monthly Charlotte luncheon will be at noon Jan. 31 at Maggiano's Little Italy Restaurant in SouthPark mall. The $10 cost is donated to Dress For Success, the nonprofit that helps low-income women enter the work force by providing them with interview clothes.

Details: www.momcorps.com

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Immigrant Entrepreneurs Fuel Growth

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CanadianMedsWorld.com
Immigrant entrepreneurs are starting businesses at a higher rate than native-born residents, according to a new study released Tuesday by the Center for Urban Future, a New York City-based think tank.

The study, which focused on immigrant entrepreneurial activity in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, and Boston, found that immigrant entrepreneurs are becoming increasingly powerful economic engines for big cities. Among other sectors, immigrant entrepreneurs are stimulating growth and creating more new jobs in food manufacturing and health care, the study found.

Despite that impact, tapping into the economic potential of immigrant entrepreneurs will require far more attention and support from policymakers, business-advocacy groups, and community development organizations, the study's researchers said.

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CanadianMedsWorld.com

When skateboard-maker Sector 9 in San Diego decided to add a couple of bamboo skateboards to its product lineup, company managers thought they might appeal to a few environmentally conscious customers. But in less than two years, customer demand led the company to expand the line to four models, Sector 9 vice president and co-founder Dennis Telfer, 37, reports.

At press time, sales for the bamboo boards were projected to top $1 million in 2006. The bamboo skateboards are popular not only because they save trees, but also because “the boards are really durable and they’ve got a different look,” says Telfer, who co-founded the business with Steve Lake, 38, and Dave Klimkiewicz, 36.

As Telfer discovered, bamboo has more going for it than just being a fast-growing, easily renewable relative of grass. Bamboo is strong and has a tropical, exotic appearance that appeals to customers who are interested in the tiki-Hawaiian look or just seeking out something new.

Bamboo products--from kitchen cabinets to T-shirts--are finding an enthusiastic audience, entrepreneurs report. Just a decade or so after bamboo products, such as flooring, first began finding acceptance in the U.S. market, business owners say interest in bamboo has shot up fast.

Doug Lewis, 37, remembers how every flooring distributor in the Northwest turned away his bamboo flooring in the mid-1990s. Now they all have bamboo floors. Lewis, who co-founded Bamboo Hardwoods with David Keegan, 37, projects about $5 million in 2007 sales, more than half of it in bamboo flooring.

The Seattle company added custom bamboo kitchen cabinets to its offerings early last year. Bamboo Hardwoods also added three new retail stores to the Seattle area in 2006 to help educate customers about its products.

One of the company’s new showrooms is located inside Costco Home in Kirkland, Washington, one of two test-format stores for the warehouse-club giant. Lewis is hopeful that if Costco expands the home-furnishings concept, Bamboo Hardwoods might be able to add more showrooms inside Costco stores. Eventually, he envisions a national chain of bamboo flooring and cabinetry stores.

As environmentalists continue to popularize the idea of choosing nonwood building materials, Lewis expects bamboo flooring’s share of the hardwood-flooring market to grow. That market is expanding overall, too--the National Wood Flooring Association estimates 2005 wood-floor sales were just under $2.6 billion, and that’s projected to grow to $3.7 billion by 2010. Says Lewis, “I think the existing market for bamboo [can’t compare to] the size it will be.”

Another entrepreneur who’s high on bamboo is Mark Elwell, 48, of Bamboo Flooring Hawaii LLC in Honolulu. A longtime importer from Asia, Elwell switched to bamboo floors in 1997 and never looked back. Sales in 2006 were $2 million, but he expects sales closer to $3 million this year, as newly formed relationships with distributors begin to pay off.

Bamboo flooring has become so popular that Elwell says he’s expanded into new styles to offer something unique. One of his products is Tigerboo, a bamboo floor made of tiny bamboo strips in contrasting dark and light shades.

Elwell is experimenting with new bamboo products, hoping to take advantage of growing public interest. He plans to introduce a line of bamboo picture frames this year and has made custom frames, tables and guitars for customers including singer Jimmy Buffett.

One bamboo product that’s already caught on big is clothing, says Rich Delano, 38, owner of Bamboo Textiles in Brea, California. Delano began selling bamboo yarn and fibers imported from China in 2004 and found the super-comfy bamboo fabric won customers over fast. “They [like it] because it’s so soft, it’s natural and it’s something new,” he says.

From a $125,000 initial investment, sales at Bamboo Textiles are expected to range between $2 million and $3 million this year. Delano says his revenue is split in thirds--one-third comes from sales of yarn and fabric, one-third from churning out apparel for other designers and silk-screeners, and one-third from sales of his own apparel brands, Spun Bamboo and Bamboo Apparel.

He sells his own lines on www.spunbamboo.com in partnership with fellow bamboo entrepreneur Daniel Keesey, 42, of Ecodesignz in Gardena, California. Environmentally focused stores are snapping up the lines, which include menswear, womens-wear and baby items.

As a sideline, Delano bought up some 50 website names that involve bamboo. As the product continues to grow in popularity, he hopes to sell some of the undeveloped sites off at a profit.

Carol Tice is Entrepreneur’s “Tax Talk” columnist.

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JetPens - Incredible Student Startup That Brings In $1000 For Every $20 Spent On AdWords
CanadianMedsWorld.com

You've all heard of Zillow.com, but it's not the only success story in the real estate niche. Shawn Collins, the founder of PropertyValueHub.com, replicated Zillow's success as a one-man team.

Currently Shawn makes anywhere between $35000 and $50000 every month from his website, which is free to users and is supported by ads from the real estate industry.

Accroding to Shawn, because every county makes home sales figures publically available, any person with tech savvy can build a site that shows approximate value of a house anywhere in the United States.

However Shawn Collins believes that this niche is already taken and only small local sites can combine data with experience of local realtors have any potential.

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11 Tips for Pay-Per-Click Success

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CanadianMedsWorld.com

This list details some very important points to keep in mind when creating or managing any pay-per-click campaign. Is this all there is to know about pay-per-click advertising? Absolutely not, but for those new to PPC it should serve as good place to start. Additionally, pay-per-click veterans or at least the moderately-seasoned will want to touch upon these points now and then to brush up on their fundamentals.

1) Do your keyword homework.

Use Google's free Keyword Tool or sign up for a WordTracker account to find out which keywords are the most competitive. The more competitive the keyword, the more expensive your clicks will be. While you're finding out which keywords are too expensive you'll come across some that aren't being targeted heavily by advertisers. Take a good look at these - they may be your keys to a successful niche campaign.

2) Don't bunch your ad groups.

You should be striving to separate your ad groups by keyword. Whatever your target, separate your keyword lists into closely related groups containing the same target words and write ads geared specifically to those words. Your ads will show up higher in results based on their quality, and search terms show up bold in results - a click-through rate booster.

3) Drive home your selling point.

What's your offer? Why are you better than the others? Remember that your ads are going to display with your competitors. The difference between a user clicking your ad and clicking a competitor ad is about 100 pixels on the screen - or a millisecond of time. You need to convince them that you are the one they want. You are better. Grab them.

4) Don't send users to your home page.

This is perhaps one of the worst things you can do to your Pay-Per-Click campaign. Internet users are notoriously impatient. Send them to your home page when they were searching for a specific product or service and see how fast they leave. Don't waste your advertising budget - send them to optimized landing pages.

5) Optimize your landing pages.

Your landing pages need to drive something home immediately for your users: "you have landed in the right place." They need to know that, yes, this is what they were looking for, here it is, here is why it is better than the rest and here's the easy thing they need to do to get it. In most cases you'll need to create multiple landing pages based on your different ad groups and keywords, but look at it this way - if your users aren't landing at pages geared exactly to their search phrases they'll leave and take your advertising budget with them.

6) Don't lie in your ads.

People aren't dumb. If you promise something in your ads you had better well deliver. Otherwise you'll not only waste advertising dollars but damage your brand. Be honest, and focus on points that make you stand out from the competition. Grandiose ad text might bring in clicks, but if it isn't the truth it won't bring in conversions.

7) Your domain name counts.

In most cases you can display a domain name that you own as the "display domain" but point the ads to a page on a different domain. Why does this matter? If you own a domain name that contains the keyword text it will show up bold and increase conversions. Enter the optimized domain as the displayed domain, point the ads to your landing pages and you can expect higher CTRs in most cases.

8) Utilize negative keywords.

Google has a new Negative Keyword Tool that will allow you to find negative keywords that you should specify for your ads. Negative keywords are those that you don't want your ads to display for. For example, if you're selling "blue widgets" you don't want to display your ads to those users searching for "free blue widgets." If you don't use negative keywords you are missing out on a chance to get more targeted traffic to your landing pages, and this can really hurt your conversion rates.

9) Test, test, and test some more.

The greatest thing about internet advertising is the ability it grants you to measure your success. It's easy to create A/B split tests with Pay-Per-Click advertising. Change one word, add a comma, include a value proposition. . .just make sure you only change one thing for each split or you won't know which variable it was that made the difference! You'll find out right away that this is a great way to optimize your click-through rates - just don't forget that clicks aren't everything!

10) Don't focus too heavily on CTRs.

Getting tons of clicks isn't always the name of the game. In fact, if you aren't using proper techniques to ensure that you're getting targeted traffic and sending it to well-optimized landing pages you can blow through your advertising budget in no time flat. Remember that the success of any advertisement is getting back more than you put in. It's an investment, not a cost - so do all that you can to better your rate of return!

11) Don't pigeonhole yourself.

We all know that Google AdWords is the most popular Pay-Per-Click service out there. Your competitors know it, your users know it - even your grandma might know it. It would be foolish to ignore Google as a venue for advertising, but don't forget that there are other search engines out there who offer similar services. Yahoo!'s new Panama search system is catching on, and Microsoft's adCenter is nothing to sneeze at either. Both companies are currently offering sweet promotional deals to new Pay-Per-Click advertisers to stay competitive so take advantage and diversify!

About the Author: Mike Tekula handles SEO, SEM, usability and standards-compliance for NewSunGraphics, a Long Island, New York firm offering Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, W3C-Compliant web design using full CSS layouts and all things web design/development.

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Meet Ms. Fix-It

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CanadianMedsWorld.com

Barbara Kavovit -- better known to the world as Barbara K -- has turned what began as a niche home-improvement business into a mini-empire that now includes a line of fashionable, female-friendly tools available through retailers like Target, two best-selling books and, most recently, an online show. Barbara K admits that while her career has rarely traveled in a straight path, and that she has made her fair share of mistakes, her business is stronger because of what she's learned along the way.

"My first job I took after college was as a financial analyst. I was living at home in New Rochelle, N.Y., at the time, and it was actually kind of boring. Then one day I heard my mom talking to some of her friends about how hard it was to get things done around the house without a man around, like hanging picture, fixing a leaky faucet, and tightening a doorknob. That's when a lightbulb went on for me.

"I realized that women are tired of having to rely on men to help with home improvements. I thought women might like to deal with another woman instead. So I went to a local printer to have some business cards and fliers made up. Then I went to the mall and started talking to women about how I had just started a home-improvement business and asked whether there was anything I could help them with.

"After I lined up a job, like putting up Sheetrock, I would go to the phonebook, find the contractors that could do the work, and check out their references. I would then drive the contractor to the job and talk with the customer as he did the work. I made my money by charging the homeowner more than the contractor was charging me. My first year, I made $25,000.

"After a while, I actually decided that I wanted to learn about things like plumbing and carpentry myself. I also expanded the business into the corporate world after I landed a few contracts for small repair work at companies like IBM, Coca-Cola, and Reader's Digest. Then, in 1995, when I was 23, I landed a condo-development project in Weehawken, N.J. All of a sudden, I had a name in the industry and was earning more than $2.5 million a year.

"Between 1995 and 2001, I moved the business to Manhattan and grew revenue to about $50 million a year, got married, and had a baby. Then 9/11 happened and everything just stopped. All of a sudden, I had to lay people off. It was a real time of uncertainty.

"Things seemed to hit rock bottom not long afterward when my husband and I decided to get a divorce. I remember going to fix something in my apartment when I realized that my ex had taken my toolbox. I was upset. Then, after watching an episode of 'Sex and the City' where Samantha has trouble hanging her curtains, I came up with the idea to create the perfect tool kit for women.

"I wanted my tool kit to look like the iMac -- slim and stylish -- and it would have all the tools and parts needed to fix the 10 most common home-repair problems. I spent $8,000 on a prototype and partnered with a manufacturer in Taiwan to make the tools. The big break came when we landed Bloomingdale's as our first customer. I even got them to do a window display for it. Everything kind of took off after that.

"We started working with Home Depot in 2005, where I did appearances in the New York City stores. That's when the book publishers came calling, and then the TV producers. We just filmed a 10-episode series called "Get a Grip with Barbara K" that will go online later this year.

"People have to understand that this wasn't an easy journey. It's really hard to build a global brand. You need to be persistent, focused, and willing to change the course of where you're going in an instant. That's the only way to stay on the right track."

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