Everything to do with your shak.
In this time of recession, ABC is taking a moment to try and raise ratings with the celebrity studded Un-Broke, to air tonight at 9 pm Eastern. It’s supposed be funny, yet educational. I’ll be tweeting about it (@MMarquit).
Anyway, the E*Trade commercial promoting the event is funny.
Happy Friday!
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Today is the observation of Memorial Day. It is a time for remembering, and a time for gratitude. I will be taking this time to visit graves of family members and talking to my son about sacrifice and the respect we should have for those who give themselves to help protect us.
What are you doing for Memorial Day?
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Natural disasters can strike almost anywhere and at almost anytime. While we often think of hurricanes and tornadoes as serious problems, there are also threats of wildfire, earthquake, flooding and even ice storms, depending on where you live. All of these problems can interfere with your home business operation. Chief Home Officer offers this advice for preparing for disaster:
When considering how to prepare your corporate or home office for a mean season, or any time of year, ask yourself these questions…
- How does home office protection differ from that of the corporate office?
- What lessons have been learned in recent disasters that can influence or improve home office disaster protection?
- What technology that’s widely available can help home officers smooth the transition from outage to productivity?
- How can I get my home office – or telework team – back up and running with minimal disruption?
It is very important that you consider these questions and make a plan. Use data backup services when warranted, and think of such items as generators, supplies and other necessary items. If you need to be able to get online, think of a place you can go to get Internet access. It is important that you think of contingency plans so that when disaster strikes, your home business doesn’t come to a complete standstill for too long.
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If you are looking for a fun contest, head on over to Freelance Parent at Sparkplugging. The gals at Freelance Parent are holding a caption contest for a picture of a cat trapped beneath a laptop. Leave a comment with your caption, and you could win a really cool prize.
This is the sort of picture that helps you get through the day: a freelance cat. The contest is open until April 5th.
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A career coach can be a great help to you as you crystalize your efforts to work from home. Whether you are looking for a telemarketing job, or whether you are looking for direction with a home business, a career coach can get you on the right path.
Over at Interview Chatter, career coach Darlene McDaniel is offering a free session to the first 25 commenters. There are 16 right now, so if you hurry over, you might get a slot. This can be a great chance for introspection and help.
In these times, it is important to stay on top of things with your home business. However, capital is scarce, and you may not know how to implement an action plan for growing your business in this economy. This is where a great contest at Smart Money Life comes in.
You could win cash, useful business products and services and a plan of action to help your home business achieve success — even in the current economy.
There are a number of prizes in addition to the grand prize:
* Company logo designed by a graphic designer.
* Content management set up by a programmer.
* Help from a search marketing specialist.
* Web promotion.
This is a great chance to get a little extra help for your home business. Get the details at Smart Money Life.
Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!
I love this time of year, and I am grateful for many things — but especially the Shak readers.
I hope you find many things to be thankful this holiday season, and in the coming year.
Poverty is becoming a bigger issue by the minute. Billions of people around the world live in poverty, and the problem can seem overwhelming. But if everyone concentrated on a small patch of the world, eventually the individual efforts would add up.
And that means that your home business, no matter how small, can join the fight against poverty. Over at Responsible Marketing, there is a list of 25 things your business can do to fight poverty. There some things that even a home business can do. Here are some of my favorites from the list:
* Cook and distribute meals. You can work with a soup kitchen or homeless shelter. I know that my son’s school has programs during the summer and holidays where you can help provide a meal for children who mainly only get good nuitrition while at school.
* Give to a charity. And encourage any employees you might have to donate as well.
* Have a donation program. You can donate some of your goods and services to charities. Additionally, it is possible to offer discounts to your clients who buy goods and services on behalf of others.
* Engage in microfinance. Not only does this help those in poverty, it can also help you create another revenue stream for your business.
* If you’ve been accumulating reward points, donate them. Many credit cards will allow you to donate your points to charity.
Can you think of ways for your home business to help fight poverty?
Today, in an unprecedented move of global economic cooperation, several central banks cut their interest rates by 50 basis points. The U.S. Federal Reserve was involved in the move, bringing the rate here in the U.S. down to 1.5%
If you have been looking for credit for your home business, this might help. Between the move by the Fed to buy commercial paper and offer short term loans to businesses, plus this rate cut, there are hopes that the credit freeze will thaw a little bit.
And that may mean that you can get the funding you need in the near future.
Are we ready to get serious about truly fixing the economy? Or do we just want a $700 billion band-aid?
Happy Friday!