So I am going to talk to (and ask) you about how, as an entrepreneur, you can balance a full-time job without losing your clients, and still working toward building your business in the future. Oh yeah, and how to do that and STILL keep a relationship with a husband/wife, children, parents and friends in tact…  I’ve been thinking a lot about this because my present job is due to end in August, and I want to be ready to go “great guns” when I come back home to roost.

I have found many great things about working outside the home over these past months. I forgot how much I enjoy working with people face to face, and how much I love administrative work (I’m an Office Operations Supervisor for Administration).  But the really interesting thing for me is meeting so many different people, many of whom are in the exact same position as me – they’re doing this job because they or their spouse lost their job, so they’re having to take a break from what they really love and are trained to do.

I’ve tried to be open to what God wants me to learn from this experience, but also WHO he wants me to meet, because it doesn’t matter WHAT you know if nobody knows you.   I’ve realized that these are incredibly talented people in their own rights, forced into low-paying jobs due to the economy. I’m keeping my eyes open for potential partners and teachers as well as potential clients.

Also, being thrown together with a group of people from different backgrounds and experiences allows you to conduct “focus groups”, if you will, to get feedback on ideas from people outside of your normal “niche” or “industry”.  Sometimes they may have negative criticism which will help you get past hurdles you didn’t know existed.  Others may give you the neccessary encouragement you need to continue when your spirits are low.

So if you are someone in the same position as I am, I want to encourage you to make the most of your time out of your home and make as many contacts as possible.  Find people that you can rely upon as sounding boards for future ideas or even present products, and how they can be marketed or improved.  I challenge you to be less concerned with “selling”, and more concerned with “learning” during this brief hiatus (or less all-consuming period) of your business.

The other thing I have found is the challenge to continue to keep existing clients happy and satisfied, while still working 40 hours, and trying to still pay attention to my extended family of loved ones. My husband appreciates all of the work I do to take care of the family, and recognizes my need to make sure I don’t lose existing clientele so I still have a business to which I can return after this job ends. But honestly, I fluctuate between sheer exhaustion (from my work schedule) and my consuming obsession with making my business a success.  That leaves very little “together” time for family.

I am also trying to walk that thin line between trusting God to meet our needs and hold my future, and doing everything I can to be a faithful steward of what He has provided for me.  I don’t want to “make things happen” that aren’t meant to be (and will be unprofitable and unfruitful), but I don’t want to be one of those spiritual people who believes all I have to do is sit still and everything will be handed to me on a silver platter.

So as I navigate these treacherous, yet necessary, waters of life right now, I’m trying to stay clear of shipwrecking relationships, and of letting my business boat rust and possibly sink from lack of attention.  I’d love for you to tell me how YOU are handling this duality required of you at this time. 

• Are you trying to keep your original business afloat while you try to bring in a steady paycheck at an outside job?
• Are you continuing your blog, podcast, twitter or facebook updates?
• Are you taking this time to re-evaluate your business and think about ways of changing your products or marketing plans?
• Have you found that people presently around you outside of the house may possibly play key roles in the future of your business?

Please share your stories with me.  It will be such a great encouragement to me, as WELL as an encouragement to those who read your comments.

And when you comment, please make sure to put a link to your business.  After all, we’re all in this together, and I’d love to add one more link back to your business while you’re taking care of business elsewhere.

Penny Haynes, http://PennyHaynes.com

First comes Subaye.com, a Software As A Service (SAAS) company that has contracted with large offline malls to create simultaneous online shopping malls for the vendors. Their software incorporates online video marketing as well. According to the article, they are charging approximately $100/month for 2,200 licenses they have sold to 11 malls. Not bad money, if you ask me.

Then, in a second article, Placecast talks about Digital Advertising Trends in 2009. One of the points they discuss is that people will start utilizing the web to do more localized advertising. With easy access to location-finding software, “simple applications from marketers will include couponing and advertising to users in proximity to potential offerings of interest (such as stores, cafes, restaurants, etc.)”. They also predict that location will figure into future search algorithms to determine relevance, so if you are looking for a product or service, searches may re-prioritize rankings depending on where you are.

However, as someone who unsuccessfully spent the last year trying to talk offline businesses and Chambers of Commerce into participating in such online marketing, I have doubts regarding how fast this trend will move. Perhaps the sinking economy will push offline businesses to move into new areas, instead of doing the same thing and achieving the same (or worse) results. Their point of reference is very different from those of us who know and understand the internet, and what makes sense to us doesn’t necessarily make sense to them.

What do you think about online marketing for offline businesses in your area? Do you think they will go for it? Is your community ready for such a move? Are you going to take the opportunity to be one of the first to bring online multimedia marketing to businesses in your area? Leave me a comment and give me your opinion regarding offline businesses and online marketing.

I have the Family Friendly Podcast Directory, but I started that not to make money, but just to create a refuge from the original podcasters that were so enamored with the fact that the FCC couldn’t touch what they said that they used vulgarity just because they could. I remember contacting one Podcaster and asking him (personally, not professionally) why he used vulgarity in his podcast. He told me because he could. He then admitted, however, that the newness of it wore off quickly, and he realized he was cutting himself off from a lot of listeners by doing so. I think he eventually gave it up.

Anyway, back to my story. I have been spending time studying and contacting who is big in Family Friendly “stuff” on the internet. (By the way, I Googled Family Friendly, and lo and behold, there my directory was!) I had already done keyword research on Family Friendly and found out NOBODY searches for those words. And yet there are tons of sites and articles and businesses that feature and promote Family Friendly stuff.

So how do I get people to find and visit my Directory if they are not searching for it? I want to give my Family Friendly Podcasters a lot of exposure, and also let those that care about that type of content KNOW that we are here. If they are not searching for “Family Friendly” stuff, how will they find me? (This kind of stuff keeps me up at night, if you haven’t noticed.) So I spend time on it.

Then I have my new, consolidated website which I figured I would finish today. That didn’t happen. I spent all day working on the Community Directories specs, rotating gif and accompanying web page. I needed to get that up because I purchased an ad on the International Virtual Women’s Chamber of Commerce (to which I proudly belong), and so I had to put the site up to match the .gif.

Then I need to start preparing for my own Community Directory which I will be running for Cherokee County, GA. There’s also another online business that I am partnering on, and have to work on getting those specs together as well. I’ve got one of my websites that is down and the person responsible for fixing it hasn’t been able to do that yet, and isn’t around. That’s another headache I’m not thrilled about.

So my head is spinning with “stuff” – podcasting stuff (that reminds me – I need to post on Podcaster Central Network at Ryze that I want to start interviewing business podcasters), Community stuff, website stuff, advertising stuff. So much stuff that even though I may accomplish a lot, there’s still so much stuff left undone. (Does anyone ever search for “stuff”? If so, I may end up on Page 1 on Google if I keep writing like this.)

But at least the Community Directory site IS up. If you know of anyone who would like to run a home-based online business for their community – a combination community magazine, directory, internet tv station and internet radio station – send them my way. I’m looking for 25 charter members (well, I have 23 left, with me taking one, and Houston, TX already taken) – and the money making possibilities are unlimited. So shoot me an email, or tell someone else about it and have THEM shoot me an email. Then everyone can make money and be happy (or something like that).

Well, enough about that. Happy New Year to everyone. I’ll end my ramblings there. Until next time, good night and happy podcasting.

Penny Haynes, That Podcasting Site