Social Media Blitz

Wow! It has been an amazing year! The economy has taken us all for a ride, and I have been focusing on my primary business to make sure that all the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed.

In the meantime, I have been learning, learning, learning, and putting the tools I have gathered to use with my business. I want to make sure they really work before I recommend them to you. So now, here we go.....

Over the next few months, you'll be seeing an explosion of information here on the Your Small Business Guide Blog and on the Your Small Business Guide website. You'll be amazed at how much you can supercharge your business and your sales through the use of social media, but it's not a get rich quick proposition. Remember, I always say that anyone who offers you a get rich quick idea is fooling you. Success requires work, but it's how you work that matters. I can help with that.

So, here are some social media links you can use to start following me around:

http://twitter.com/veronicarobbins
http://twitter.com/grantgodddess
http://facebook.com/veronica.robbins
http://facebook.comCreativeRR
http://facebook.com/grantgoddess
http://www.linkedin.com/in/veronicarobbins

The Grant Goddess links are for my other business, so you can see examples of how I put the tools to work.

So, keep coming back! I guarantee you, you'll learn more than you thought you could.

Do You Have What It Takes To Be An Entrepreneur?

This post from Generation-Y Start Up walks you through some of the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs and illustrates some of them by giving examples of real people who have those characteristics.

Are you a leader? A visionary? Are you confident? Disciplined?

For more information on just what it takes to be an entrepreneur, visit the Entrepreneur 101 page at your-small-business-guide.com.

Time Management Tips from Zenhabits

This guest post on zenhabits focuses on 3 Ways to Get More Done with the Power of Less.

We all know that focus is a key to high productivity, time management, and excellence. This interesting post gives some specific tips on how to get there.

Choosing How You Spend Your Time

I just read an interesting post on ShoeMoney about being more productive by cutting the dead weight in your schedule so you can be more productive. O.K., "dead weight" wasn't the word used by ShoeMoney, but this is a G-rated blog, so you'll have to go with it.

The problem is that he defines "dead weight" as including watching sporting events, playing video games, and spending time with friends. I was with him on the TV and video game part, but he kind of lost me on the spending times with friends issue.

Life is all about relationships. Our happiness is dependent often on the quality of those relationships. Time with family and friends is critical for personal, as well as business success.

Don't get me wrong. I totally agree with the spirit of the ShoeMoney post - if you're going to get anywhere in business you need to prioritize your time and manage it well. I have heard lots of people who are not successful whine about not having enough time only to notice that they waste a lot of it by thoughtlessly spending it on frivolous things.

The key here is thoughtlessly. The same sporting event can be a waste of time for one person and well-spent time for another. For example, if you're watching the ball game by yourself instead of taking care of a business-related task, it may be a waste of time for you. On the other hand, if you are sitting with your teenager and using that as an opportunity to talk with him and develop that relationship a bit, that's a very well-spent use of the time for you.

Successful people, and those on their way to success, have to make tough judgments about how to use their time. It is possible to choose people and relationships and still be successful in business. Without having the first, the second is meaningless.

Marketing Your Small Business

Marketing your small business can be very confusing.

Here are some quick tips about some things that work and some things that don't.