By Holly Reisem Hanna

One of the perks of blogging is that you often get asked to participate in book reviews; which I love because I’m an avid book reader. So when one of Hilary Topper’s colleagues asked me to review “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Social Media But Were Afraid to Ask: Building Your Business Using Consumer Generated Media” I gladly accepted. Myself being heavily involved in social networking I was thrilled to read this book and see what what new things I could learn.

Hilary’s book contains 172 pages and is broken down into 31 small chapters. She starts off with a brief introduction into social media and its history, and then delves directly into the workings of 20 different social media networks. The networks discussed are geared towards people interested in using social networking for business and marketing purposes. Because the chapters are short and to the point, you can easily use this book as a quick reference guide or as a detailed road map to help you navigate your way through the various social networks.

Each chapter starts off with a quote about the specified network from different marketing or business authority. There are details on how to set up an account, what functions are available and a basic tutorial on how to use it. At the end of each chapter Hilary gives her “2 Cents” where she gives her opinion of each of the social networks described. Some of the social media sites featured are BrightKite, Business Exchange, Yammer and SecondLife, of course top dogs like Twitter and Facebook are discussed too. The book finishes off with tips for going viral, how non-profit organizations can use social media in their campaigns and how to deal with negative media. (more…)

By Holly Reisem Hanna

I absolutely love Twitter! I can’t even begin to tell you how many great people I have met, and how many wonderful resources I have been introduced to from Twitter tweets. And it’s no wonder with staggering growth rate of 1,382% why people are using Twitter to network, promote their products and services and even search for work at home jobs.

To help make your Twitter experience a positive one, last week I wrote a blog post on, 10 People You Should Follow on Twitter. Since than I have been gathering reader feedback on who you think others should follow on Twitter. Let me tell you, this has been an extremely fun post for me to write, because I got to troll Twitter all day and connect with some new and interesting people.

Here are Your Twitter Recommendations! (more…)

Do you work at home?

Most weeks I split my time between home and office equally.

How many children do you have?

I have two children: Jack is 9 and Drew is 6 (going on 16).

How many hours do you work a week?

More than most I believe. I work from the moment my kids get on the bus to the second they get home and pick up again once they’ve drifted to sleep.  I usually turn in around 1am.

Tell us about My Butterfly Network and how it’s different from other social networks?

MyWorkButterfly.com was born out of the conversations had with hundreds of smart and savvy moms all trying to figure our exactly how to achieve both personal and professional aspirations.  As a result of this research, including focus groups and a national moms survey, we have created the most comprehensive site for moms who are looking to go back to work and for those working moms trying to juggle it all.  All of the free resources provided to members allow moms to become empowered and to achieve success in all aspects of life.  MyWorkButterfly.com offers the free advice of a career coach, psychotherapist, financial consultant, nutritionist, personal trainer, heath and green experts, beauty and fashion gurus, eldercare and childcare experts, and a national job board with over 10,000 + opportunities to be had. (more…)

Are you looking for career advice, business tips or that perfect work-at-home opportunity?

This week’s Lovable Links has it all; featuring strong, wise and witty women who offer career advice, business strategies and tips for creating your dream life -no matter where you’re at on your career path these women have you covered!

Happy Lovable Links!

Penelope Trunk’s Brazen Careerist – author of Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success and founder of the Brazen Careerist, a social network to help young people manage their careers. Penelope’s blog revolves around career advice and her personal trials and tribulations. If you like Heather Armstrong’s (Dooce) sense of humor than you’ll love Penelope’s writing style and view of the world! (more…)

I love fashion and home décor, but when it comes to being creative and imaginative I’m definitely challenged. And honestly, when I think of arts and crafts I think back to my childhood days of the pot holders and Popsicle stick boxes that I use to make – this is why I don’t often correlate arts and crafts with working at home.

But lately I have found some AMAZING jewelry designers, children’s clothes and handbags on Etsy, and to tell you the truth I was blown away by how many women are working at home by selling their creative wares.This made me realize that I needed to address working at home as an artisan and crafter.

Assuming you already have the creative part down, here are 10 steps you will need to take to start selling your arts and crafts online. (more…)