By Holly Reisem Hanna

I’ll admit it… I’m a huge fan of the reality TV show The Bachelor, and it’s counterpart The Bachelorette. I’ve watched it religiously for years.

If you’re not familiar with the show, the premise is pretty simple. There are a group of 25 individuals that vie for the attention of the Bachelor or Bachelorette. At the end of each episode the Bachelor/Bachelorette hands out roses to women/men that they want to continue dating, until eventually they narrow it down to just two contestants. During the show’s finale, the Bachelor/Bachelorette chooses the individual that they would like to marry and leaves the other contestant with a broken heart. (more…)

By Donna L. Johnson

Promoting your blog was the topic in a recent #BlogTrends chat on Twitter. The first question the moderator asked was, “Is paying to advertise a good way to promote your blog? Why or why not?”. One of the participants responded, “if you mean getting business cards and paying for a .com I think those are good ways to invest.”

Let me see exactly where to start with dissecting the above statement.

I came across several definitions of advertising. The one I liked best is from the Small Business Encyclopedia at Entrepreneur.com:

To call the public’s attention to your business, usually for the purpose of selling products or services, through the various forms of media, such as print and broadcast notices. (more…)

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your entrepreneurial journey.

While I was employed in the traditional corporate world, I always received design requests from friends, mostly from those starting their own businesses. At first, after working 10 hours a day at the office, I took on a limited number of projects. As my skills developed with each project and my friends were impressed with the outcomes, I took on more work and began to really enjoy this newly found “paid hobby.”

Word of mouth spread with momentum, and I was getting continuous referral work. I was getting compensated for doing something I loved. It slowly dawned on me that I was building a business that was making money. When I was laid off from my job, it was a natural and easy choice to transition into this business full-time.

First and foremost, I am a Mom. That itself is a full-time job. Interwoven between my role as matriarch and wife, I love being a creative designer. Being a designer and doing what I love is the most amazing occupation I could imagine.

As a mompreneur, I pride myself on being organized. I create lists and calendars to keep up with schedules and activities for my family and business. The flexibility of being a freelance professional allows me to design around my family responsibilities. (more…)

By Christine Kane

Do a quick Google search and you’ll likely find a million tips and tricks for turning one of your extra bedrooms into the perfect home office or prioritizing and maximizing on your time when you work from home. But what about when you and your significant other both work from home? Having two people vying for at home work space is a little more trying then one of you working from home and the other traipsing off to the office each morning.

1.      Create Separate Work Spaces

As tempting as it may be to office share with your spouse, it’s likely going to end up being more distracting than productive. Carve out your own personal niches to get work done, even if it is as simple as putting up a space divider in an extra bedroom. By having your own personal space you’ll be more focused on getting work done. (more…)

By Jane Johnson

Look for your dream job 24/7

These days, if you want a really good job, you need to be on the lookout 24/7. That’s why your future is dependent upon the job search tools that you arm yourself with. Technology provides a viable advantage when you consider the thousands of networking tools; resume writing apps, recruiter apps and etc., available for iPhone, BlackBerry, T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S, and Android smart phones.

Looking for work means keeping your fingers on the pulse of the employment market all the time, which is more than possible if you have a smart phone. Now all you need are the right job search apps, like the 5 below, to help you market your skills, build your professional reputation, and create a good database of professional contacts as you seek employment… (more…)