Under the Weather

We have been having wild and crazy weather and in combination with spring allergy season its trying to keep me down. I just took extra vitamin C yesterday (both in food and vitamin pills) and now I slept 14 hours. I hope that does it but I'll stay inside and take it easy today.



The better to sit in front of the computer and get my site up and running today. The old turning lemons into lemonade. First I have to domain & keyword search, purchase the domain, and then add a checkout. Back later with more details.

Job Fair

While I would love to give this project my full attention I still have to comply with Unemployment Compensations rules on work search so it's off to the Job Fair for me. More later. . .

Facebook Advertising Credit

Don't know if this is still available but its worth a shot:

How to get the $200 free Facebook advertising credit:
click here and click manage your existing ads.
From here click “Billing”.
Then click on the “Funding Sources” tab.
Once you are there enter in these codes:
T5V6-1JKV-TNH9-2MRH
2JXY-WTFK-72Y0-VJ6Y

For the last one, which is $100, you have to add this application .
They will send you the code to enter in your e-mail.
To get the advertising credit, of course you need to
be signed up with facebook which is easy and free.

If you want step by step on how to sign up eHow is a great resource
http://www.ehow.com/how_2031192_sign-up-facebook.html

Equally important is how to get around
http://www.ehow.com/how_4791548_navigate-facebook.html

Time off for Good Behavior

Since Thursday was Webinar Day, I had worked late, but Friday I got ready to go into town in the morning. I had a nail appointment, visited my best friend, and then had a get together with my Girlfriends Group. We had a great time at a new Tapas place in Waukesha called Generations. We had about 16 ladies attending so we had four separate tables.

Tapas is the name for appetizers or small plates in Spanish Cuisine. They are meant to be shared over a glass of wine. They started when one of the Spanish kings was recovering from an illness had small dishes with a glass of wine between meals. Then he ordered taverns to serve them when wine was ordered. Later meat topped bread was used to cover sherry glasses to prevent fruit flies in the sweet wine.

We had both cold and hot, savory and sweet. I'm not a wine drinker but had a Diet Coke, which is usually my drink of choice, (both with and without rum). Please no Diet Pepsi for me.

The four of us at the table made suggestions and we ordered one item each instead of the two per person the server suggested. Pecan Crusted Chicken was accompanied by four Roasted Asparagus Spears and a small chunk of Scalloped Potatoes, the Crusty French Bread included Parmesan Cheese, Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Herbs, and Roasted Garlic for dipping, the Crab Cakes had Remolade drizzled on the plate, and the Caprese Salad (Fresh Mozzarella, Basil, and chunks of Tomato) was drizzled with Balsamic Vinegar. Then we were offered lettuce wraps with spicy chicken.

Each item was delicious and filling so we debated dessert. We finally opted to try one of each dessert offered: Tiramisu and Flour-less Chocolate Cake. They were small pieces but enough for a couple of small bites each. We shared them with the ladies at the next table. The place was definitely a hit but don't go if you are in a hurry. I would say a minimum of two hours and more time than that would be good if you plan to visit this place.

Today I went out in monsoon type rains to go to yoga (seriously we had a weather alarm and my computer modem and router both had to be rebooted twice during the day). I drove through flooding so bad that I hoped I could make it over the water without flooding the engine. Yoga did calm me down and helped to unkink my spine. (I really miss my Yoga lady on TV in the morning.)

I stopped to get an oil change because the oil light was on and I'm burning oil so badly its black in color. The car is a whole other story since I blew the engine just before I lost my job. I had it repaired but they were unable to completely restore my compression. I don't know what got into them but those boys decided I just needed a quart of oil and I should come back in 1000 miles since that is what my sticker said. They topped me off at no charge.

All in all a good day! I just need to work later in the day today to make up for the shift in schedule.

Webinar today and downloading

Thursdays are turning into Webinar Day for me. Its a chance to get step by step instructions on how to work with a blog for business. This week it was "Creating And Putting Video On Your Blog Using Free Tools". So far the learning curve has been really extensive.

I dutifully downloaded and opened the programs suggested, Kompozer - a free HTML editor with WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) available via download here:
http://www.kompozer.net/

and Cam Studio - a free program to create videos available via download here:
http://camstudio.org/

They showed step by step how to create a video, set up a YouTube account, and upload the video to YouTube.

It was done with a webcam, using a microphone and pages created on Kompser to simulate a Powerpoint presentation. Of course you could use Powerpoint, but many people do not have it and don't want to spend the money to buy it.

In addition, today I am downloading the ebooks included in my membership before they change for the month. Each month I get 10 core products plus bonuses and weekly webinars. I think this is the quickest way to acquire products I know are not outdated.

After reviewing my files I see so much outdated material; it will take time to weed them out, update, revise, or discard them. Right now I just want to get product out there.

Trying to Stay on Top of Things

Learning to do this blog every day is not easy. Perhaps I am too scattered but I'm improving slowly. Trying to increase my discipline is a step by step process.


Perhaps this program to scan all the paper onto computer could help:
http://www.neatco.com/products.aspx

I still have eBay to contend with and my Token for Auctiva was expired. I spent some time reviving that Token so my cross selling bar would be reactivated in my listings. (That cross selling bar rotates through other items I am selling on each listing.)

Lo and behold, I found Auctiva has retained my old listings (totalling 800 plus), which will be amazing in restocking the eBay store. Of course some listings were duplicated as they relisted and some were sold but many of those items have a similar piece still in my possession. With modifications they can be uploaded fairly easily. Hey, it beats building those listings all over from scratch!

I'm a little worried my ISP is going under, so the email overflowing is a huge problem! I feel I have to cut it down to size and then slide it into Outlook but maybe I have that reversed. Maybe I should shovel it into Outlook and THEN go through it. I'm mostly concerned with the eBay stuff but its buried in two email addresses in various files.

No matter what first I have to set up Outlook. Maybe that can be done tomorrow before I go to the IT Job Fair in Madison. I have to look up how to do that set up. I'm sure I can find a "how-to" online, print it out, and use it to get set up.

Back to Workforce Development

Years ago when the kids were small and we all were very ill, I ended up going onto Aid to Families with Dependant Children, in part for the medical benefits. I mention this because dealing with those folks is like dealing with "The Unemployment/Workforce Development" people. They drag you out to see them regularly with little discernable progress. They take your time, make you wait, even when there is no one else in sight, and you have an appointment.

That is the majority of what I did including getting ready to go, waiting, having the meeting, driving back and forth. Of course, since I was out I did other errands: grocery, pharmacy, and gas station. I try to do things in batches so I don't run out with the car for just one thing. About the only place I go all by itself is the Post Office since I walk there.

I also posted to my blogs, took care of email, spent time with meal preparation, and phone calls but that is part of a normal day for me. I did some other housework things and called the day over. I may be having company this weekend so I'm trying to get ahead on that. It just amazes me how much time everything takes me lately but I will grant I am doing a bit more spring cleaning and housekeeping these days.

Getting Back to Work

It was nice to get away but its always good to come home too and the house was clean. The weather has changed and we have rain and cold for the next few days. The better to work through those days and wait for the rebound to Spring that will be here later in the week.

Getting back to working hard today. I had my weekend away. First I spent time at Department of Workforce Development Friday before heading into Milwaukee for Gallery Night. Saturday and Sunday we mostly hung out and relaxed but we did go do part of our volunteer time. Got my UC Claim in and did my work search yesterday.

Today I must download and read material. Then its Keyword testing and finding a name for my new website. The next steps will be to register and start building it.

More later.

Got Going

Managed to get going earlier. Packed and cleaned before I left home for my Orientation regarding money for school. It will be nice to come home to a clean house. That will mean I can get a good start on working Monday.

Progress Report

My sleep schedule is really turned around. I need to return to what people think is the norm for now. Tthe daylight hours are better for too many things. So maybe this is a non progress report but how can you see progress if it stays at a steady pace?.

Photography is one of the reasons I need daylight. I found a few sites that wll be helpful with that part of things.

One is a How To Improve your digital photos at http://www.wikihow.com/Develop-Your-Photography-Skills and I'm taking a class in early May. The other is a Photoshop mimic that is free and online here: http://mysoftwaredepot.com/imgeditor.php

Now I need to get back to work on the new website.

Core Issues

Having already identified the $5,000 Challenge as being a future goal, I'm putting it aside and going back to the core of the mater. Getting a for profit website up and running so I can make SOME money this month per my list of incremental goals is key to my success. This is a down time with eBay so lets go for it.

So having identified the need to stay on task on the ESP website I worked there downloading and viewing but again branched out to the ebooks in my huge collection and reviewed 200 pages of autorespondermagic.pdf in the sub-directory MyEbooks/6000 ebooks on the Christy identity. A lot is obsolete but I do believe I found some valuable info there. Still wondering about all the old ebook files on the Adam identity.

Tomorrow I need to download the 10 ebooks + the 6 Bonus Products. Then start to work on them right away. They are the most current money makers that need no revision.

Work Every Day - Happy Easter

Today I revised and updated the spreadsheet where I am tracking everything, filed my UC claim (which was easy since I haven't made any money yet), then I purchased 14 videos with resale rights on sale for $7, and worked on the study guide to the $5,000.00 Challenge for several hours. It's worthwhile but not the first thing to implement since I have no product to discuss, credibility, or expertise in this field to train or offer affiliate status in a teleseminar.

The first thing I must get going is a website and hosting for this project! That website has to have a shopping cart or some means of payment attached. Obviously I will continue to use Paypal to start with until I have some idea of the range I will need going forward. I think I can get Blogger to accept a Paypal button but I assume the Wordpress blog they suggest is a better choice since it looks more customizable.

Tomorrow I must get further into the 9 steps program, finish downloading my bonuses, search out my keywords (for the title and tags), set up an account to use Yahoo Search Marketing Tools (formerly Overture) for free (minimum $30 deposit to start advertising). This will allow searching on keywords to find something affordable. Sounds like I need to organize my own steps.

Ah well it was a long day with a couple hours in the car, time spent putting my dish to pass together, a long movie we shared some time together after dinner, and time spent with my friend and her family (who are close enough to be my family). All the kids gave me a hug even the grown up ones. My Godson was wild and was still awake in his bed at 11:30 when I left.

Time to call this day over!

Working late

Today was kind of strange in that I ended up sleeping most of the afternoon. I guess doing my own thing is starting to affect my sleeping patterns which is okay as long as I work on the business every day no matter what time it is. Isn't choosing your own hours part of being in charge of how you run your business?

I do need to be well rested before I go spend time with little kids for the holiday. I'm also going to take some extra vitamin C today and the next few days since being sick would be a major setback right now. I'm so susceptible to all those kid germs.

So now back to the plan, which is to watch the video presentation that goes with the study guide "How to Get Paid Even Before You Create A Product". It's 90 minutes in two parts and the study guide is 105 pages.

I'm also purchasing more videos tonight because there is a slammin' sale and I need all the help I can get at this point. I have written so much I have to break out new pens too cuz I'm running out of ink but all that writing shows me I'm "getting it". (Writing notes is generally how I process material.) It also gives me a place to go back and refer to when I'm questioning my memory.

Today I was Planning Future Relaxation

Or is that visualizing how I want to live? I have been helping arrange my two vacations for the end of June and beginning of July. That was time consuming and I totally enjoyed making suggestions and booking tickets. Now I just have to make some money to pay for it.

I also went out to lunch with a friend who is having a rough time. She has been trying to get a roommate which is also something I considered to mitigate my own expenses. We both live in 3 bedroom houses all by ourselves so it should make sense.

She has a little better situation in that she has 3 full baths and lake access but somehow it just won't work out. She has interviewed so many people and on two separate ocassions took money (once with a contract stipulating how much, how long, and what was included.) Both of these guys backed out in rude ways.

The first guy sent his girlfriend to get the few boxes he moved in and won't return her calls. Then the second one, signed the contract, and paid for half a month with a check which he has now issued a stop payment on, creating an over draft for her checking account. What is with these guys???

This makes me so glad I didn't think more than once about getting someone to share my house. What a pain in the neck! Who needs that kind of aggravation?

Exploring Options

When I was selling ebooks on EBay I purchased many titles. I'm just going through to maximize my knowledge but also to see what is currently saleable. So many of those relating to Ebay are out of date since they changed all the rules on Ebooks.

EBay is constantly shifting and sometimes it's hard to keep up between them and shipping changes that require all your listings to be changed. Sometimes I wonder if EBay was my big mistake since we had websites we paid for and then paid again and again to be mentored. It ended up being a lot of money for nothing since neither of us got a website up under their tutelage. I won't mention any names but if you get a postcard or letter for a "free" dinner watch out! It may be the most expensive dinner you ever had.

I also have a very expensive leather portfolio I use that comes from a famous multilevel marketing company that was branching onto the Internet. We were going to get in on the ground floor. LOL! They used a different name to rope us in but then it boiled down to their products plus a few others.

I have had several shopping sites I opened and subsequently closed but still have a hobby website I built and a few Blogs. So far I have tried Live Journal, MSN Spaces, and here but now will be trying Wordpress next. It looks like more complex options are available there but for ease on a beginner Blogger is the best in my opinion.

Unemployment Meeting Was Not So Bad

Well it wasn't as bad as I expected. Perhaps that was because there were 10 of us out here in the boon docks instead of the 50 or so that met when I did this in Milwaukee. I always said it was lowest common denominator driving the group and with 10 that wasn't that low.

I learned a few things and will be going to a meeting next week to see if I can qualify for money to go to school. At least with an associates degree I would have more education than I have now (on paper). In Milwaukeee I was okay with the on the job training but out here more formal education is more respected.

They will also be doing a critique on my resume and they have a workshop on interviewing that I can count as a job search. The meeting I went to can be counted also. There are resources there I was unaware of but mostly they can provide internet enabled computers, reference materials, and their jobnet all of which I can reach from home.

Another Bureaucracy to Contend with Now

Today I have to attend a Workforce Development Re-employment Seminar since I have been selected. Somehow I get confused when "selected" and "mandatory" are in the same sentence.

So that I am ahead of the curve, I printed resumes, cover letters, references, and a set of mapquest directions and put them in my leather portfolio. I do however draw the line at getting dressed up for this farce. I'm afraid that the three hours they are designating as an orientation will be reduced by the lowest denominator (IE the dumbest person in the room).

I'm trying to change my attitude so I am planning on listening to "It's Better to Laugh" by Kathy Levine on the way there. I will also write up the experience when I return.

Managing email

These provide some needed insight for me as I am cleaning up neglect in too many email accounts. (I use various email acounts for different purposes: Ebay, my websites, job searching, and general. I have had as many as 15 accounts at various times.)
http://www.productivity501.com/10-articles-on-managing-email/1077/

Donations

Remember Save Karen? http://www.savekaryn.com/

For those who were not into the web or missed this circa 2002 she was the first truly successful web panhandler. A girl from the Midwest grown up to be a TV producer in NYC with their whole shift in lifestyle that perplexes us in the Midwest. After all who buys $700 Manolo Blahniks or $1,000,000 apartments? She acquired credit card debt in excess of $20,000 and then lost her job.

Not sure her method is still a viable model but I do have a blues website that could be set up as a not for profit center or would I be better off setting it up with for profit ads I benefit from? It sure is something to think about as I move forward in the process of getting multiple streams of income going.

Just saw this extremely low-end, low-cost online website/online donation package from a familiar vendor that spends most of its time on the very high-end of the scale. I used to use their software in a nonprofit I worked for and even went to Blackbaud University.

It is simple. An organization can sign up for a free account, get a 5 page website, including a donation page, about page, etc. Editing a page is basically point and click - it highlights the part of the page you can edit it, and you edit it with a WYSIWYG editor.
http://blackbaudnow.com/

UC

Unemployment Compensation may be a necessary evil but it's a time waster. Like many bureaucracies they have their share of ridiculous rules and processes but this week they took the cake! They are requiring I attend (excuse me I was "selected to participate" ) a 3 hour orientation but first to go online and register.

To register involved typing my resume, cover letter and references. No upload or even cut and paste was allowed just the drudgery of non stop typing for hours. First the demographic data then the other items which could have easily been an upload. That could have cut the time drain by at least half.

Now I can't wait to see what the "next chapter of this drama" at their orientation will bring. Too bad this wan't just a bad dream or an April Fools prank.