ADUTAINMENT: Advertising as Entertainment
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Four Surefire Ways To Get Your New Business Start Up Into Profit
Congratulations! You've just started a new business, you've signed on the dotted line, purchased your inventory or set up your website, opened your doors and now .... Yikes!! Depending on your new business start up costs, it could be quite a while before you see a profit. How do you get 'into the black' without burning yourself out?

JK Harris Points out the Do's and Don'ts of Operating a Business
There are several things to consider when starting and operating your own business, especially when it comes to tax issues.

Sew What? Inc. Named Award-Winner In 3rd Annual Stevie® Awards For Women In Business.
Sew What? Inc. has placed yet another significant trophy on its shelf with the announcement of its Stevie Award for "Most Innovative Company of the Year - Up to 100 Employees." The fast-growing theatrical drape manufacturer topped a list of 13 contenders for the celebrated prize.

Internet Marketing Denver
The Internet has opened a new world to anyone who wants to own and operate a business. The Internet allows someone to work at home, perhaps out of a garage, and still have customers in all corners of the globe. Wherever the business exists, there is the center of the Internet market. Denver may not seem to be the center of the Internet to anyone who doesn?t live there, but it is the home of New Media?s Internet Marketing Denver. If you don?t know much about Internet Marketing, Internet Marketing Denver can help you.

CA, Cognos and newScale Named Best in Sales and Marketing Integration
Recipients of SiriusDecisions' Second Annual Return on Integration (ROI) Awards Honored at 2008 Summit

Beware! A Big Contract Could Destroy Your Business If You Don't Avoid This Common Mistake
Beware! A Big Contract Could Destroy Your Business If You Don't Avoid This Common Mistake

6 Easy Steps to Separating Your Personal Life from Your Business
If you work from home, chances are you already know that you're really pulling "double duty". You probably work on your business while doing the laundry, corralling the kids, or fixing dinner.

Hearts On Fire Unveils (MONOGAMY)100 -- Global Advertising Campaign Redefines Diamond Jewelry Marketing
Hearts On Fire, the pre-eminent consumer brand in the fine diamond jewelry business, today announced it is launching (MONOGAMY)100, a strikingly different global advertising campaign that links the intensity of Hearts On Fire diamonds with the power and intensity of being in a committed relationship.

Online Video Production Agency Celebrates Decade of Business Success
Prizm, an online video production agency, is celebrating a decade of business success. The past six months, the husband-and-wife team moved their staff and company into a larger space at Screenland Theatre in Kansas City, expanded staff and launched new digital storytelling products.

Arizona State Agencies Can Now Buy Audio and Video Products and Services on Contract Through ExhibitOne
Arizona state agencies can order audiovisual design and integration through ExhibitOne on the Arizona State Contract. # EPS060125-11-A1

The New Internet Marketing Trend - Streaming Web Audio
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MLM Training - The Network Marketing Success Secrets of Recruiting Small Business Owners
Many Network Marketing distributors overlook for some reason the small business owner and professional. They don't attempt to talk to them about their products and business as many believe they simply would not be interested.

Media Placement: The Untold Story Behind All Major Breakthrough Business Successes
Success in business is a rare thing. Most businesses fail today, not because they were built upon bad ideas, but because most business owners do not focus on what truly makes the difference between success and failure.

Bridgland Studios Wins National Jewelry Award and Business Grant
Bridgland Studios is the 2008 winner of a national competition sponsored by Halstead Bead, Inc. The Halstead Bead Business Development Grant is awarded to a new jewelry design entrepreneur each year in recognition of design talent and business acumen.

New InformationWeek Report Shows Growing Market Interest in Cognos Business Intelligence Solutions; Examines Role of BI in Enterprise IT Strategies
InformationWeek's "Business Intelligence and Performance Management Analytics Report," based on a survey of enterprise IT decision-makers across North America, found a growing market interest in BI technologies. Among the top five BI vendors, Cognos enjoyed the largest percent increase in interest among the survey's 405 respondents.

Boundary Setting for the Home-Based Small Business Owner

First, let me just stomp my feet, throw my arms up (with tongue firmly planted in cheek) and ask, "Why doesn't everyone in the world respect my boundaries?" Haven't I made them abundantly clear with my bellowing voice and my assertive demeanor? Yeah, I'm about as loud and scary as a ladybug!

Second, let me put my thoughts on the table. I believe that children who grow up without boundaries given to them (structure, rules, consequences, and consistent adult role models who display socially appropriate expressions of feelings), grow to be adults who don't know how to create boundaries for themselves and don't respect others' boundaries. I've been confronted with one of those adults lately and I suspect it's my call to action to beef up my own focus on this topic.

Third (and the reason for this article), how the heck does this relate to running a business? Well, that part is easy. A home-based without boudaries business in its infancy is bound to become an unfocused business as it matures. I've learned a bit about this...the hard way.

On the Personal Front

I am one of those people who goes to bed early and gets up early. So, I don't answer the phone after 9 p.m. Everyone who knows me knows this is my rule. This is my home and that's my rule. It's non-negotiable. Last night, the phone rang at 9:05, 9:30, and again just around 10 (same person each time). I have caller ID and knew the call was something that did not require immediate attention. I felt my boundaries and my privacy had been violated. So what did I do? I fumed and ranted about rude people until about 11:30. Yeah, that was really productive. The solution which didn't occur to me at the time was to simply turn the phone ringer off.

The point? I have no control over life's little interruptions. I have no control over other's behavior. I am always at choice about my response. I forgot that last night.

From now on, my phone ringer is OFF after 9. I'll call you back at 4:30 a.m. when I usually get up. Okay?

On the Home-Based Small Business Front

Okay, here's where it gets humbling. This morning as I reflected upon this issue, I began to think about all the areas of my businesses where I am not being clear about my boundaries and other areas where there's a bit of wiggle room. Am I raising a small business that's growing up to be a unfocused adult with no respect for boundaries?

For me the non-negotiable boundary areas are as follows (do any of these sound familiar?). I must:

Designate one day a week as a day of rest. No phone calls, no computer, no obsessive checking of e-mail. I don't have to respond to every e-mail within two seconds of receiving it.
Define work/personal areas in my house (a challenge for any home-based business).
Define and communicate the rules around others using my work space (e.g., desk, computer, Palm Pilot).
Designate work hours and non-work hours and make this boundary clear to family and friends.
Practice better self-care. How can I run a business if I'm not taking care of my basic needs? What is the balance, for me, between utter laziness and frenzied workaholism?
Close the door, not answer the phone, not clean the toilet when I say I'm working on my marketing plan.

What are your home business boundaries? Where are you feeling wishy-washy? Do you REALLY need to be "on" all the time to make YOUR business a success or to be a good parent/friend/spouse? Do you have to be perfect all the time? I'd wager a big, fat NO. Have I been practicing what I preach? Another big, fat NO.

Here's to imperfection, life's little calls to action, and clear boundaries.

Ann Zuccardy is a freelance technical and copy writer with 17 years of industry experience in marketing and technical communication. She currently consults with IBM in Essex Junction, Vermont where she writes software user manuals, training guides, and release notes. Ann is also the owner of Vermont Shortbread Company. She can be reached at Wordbrains.com.