I have heard many a blogger say that blogging fills a need. While blogging provides a humanizing effect on news and journaling, it also opens a window into personal lives. The details shared in blogs were once only available to a select group of friends, and while blogging has become common place, it has risks that should not be ignored.

Cyberstalking is a new phenomenon that allows anonymous online stalkers to prowl for victims. Online bloggers traditionally provide personal details about their lives. As a result, many women that blog are becoming victims. Most people are concerned about children on the Internet and set up rigorous posting guidelines for children, adolescents, and teenagers, but few adults heed the warnings and often do not consider that they too can be targeted.

Blogging is a Dangerous Game

TIME magazine has announced their Top 50 websites. Winners are separated into 9 categories, surprisingly there is not a technology or business category. Many of this year’s choices are shining examples of Web 2.0: next-generation sites offering dynamic new ways to inform and entertain, sites with cutting-edge tools to create, consume, share or discuss all manners of media, from blog posts to video clips.

The Business Opportunities Weblog Network is made up of ten niche business blogs, plus a classifieds site and a forum. Here’s a selection of popular posts from around the network:

• What Should I Sell on eBay?
• eBay Stores Just Keep Closing
• Finding Out About The Laws That Affects Franchises
• How To Pick A Winning Franchise
• Street Smart Franchising
• Why A Pet Franchise?
• E-mail Marketing
• MLM Simple: A Solid Product
• Push vs. Pull Marketing
• Lazy People Don’t Get Rich
• How Much It Takes To Start A Busine$$
• Vintage Baseball Creates Niche Businesses

We are always looking for new perspectives on business. If you’re interested in blogging for us, please contact Dane Carlson.

To advertise contact advertising@business-opportunities.biz.

I met with a gentleman this morning who recently left the sales profession. He had been with his company for about 18 months. He shared with me that the last 6 months there were what he would describe as a personal hell.

Upon delving deeper into the situation, we uncovered that it was the company, not the profession that made his situation a personal hell.

His company had a point system, where an appointment was worth a certain number of points, a second appointment worth a different total, and a sale worth yet a third different amount of ‘points.’ His boss had been sitting him down letting him know that he needed to get his point levels up if he were going to be able to make it in his business.

The tactics they used were not unlike many used in sales organizations around the world. The tactics are set up by those who have ‘been there and done that.’ However, they were not the tactics this young man was most comfortable with. Therefore, he was in a ‘personal hell.’

The story of this young man explains exactly why I have dedicated my career to furthering our understanding of the sales process. There are myriad ways to make sales, and there are equally as many different types of personalities in the professional of selling.

I believe, with every fiber in my heart, that if we are going to advance as a profession, we must begin to realize the absence of any ‘one way,’ when it comes to selling. With sound and honorable principles, a keen understanding of our customers, and a persistence as relentless as the tides, success in sales is available to all those who desire it.

The feeling that makes me smile as I drift off to sleep is that of a feeling that I can help salespeople find the peace and success they deserve. If I can provide salespeople with the courage to try things ‘their way,’ they will in turn realize their own personal success in sales. It is this easing of the tensions created by our professional lives, that seeps over into our personal lives. With a prosperous professional life, we can all enjoy our personal lives with a little more bounce in our step. This is why I jump out of bed each morning with two feet firmly planted on the floor and a smile on my face. Be strong young man; be strong.

Articles are excellent tools to generate web traffic and product interest. Writing articles, may sound easy enough, but it is important that you write the proper types of articles to attract interested readers. Follow these simple steps to create compelling and interesting content.

Compelling Articles Make Great Content

Idea Cafe, a top-rated online business center, is now taking applications for the Summer-Fall Idea Cafe Small Business Grant. Eligibiility for the $1000 cash grant is open to established small businesses and start-up companies demonstrating unusual entrepreneurial spirit and determination, and a willingness to “pay it forward” to help others.

Applicants must be an established small business or a start-up ready to get going. A full description of the grant can be found at http://www.ideacafe.com.

Episode #3 of the Business Opportunities Weblog Podcast is now online. In this episode, our new host Dan Portnoy (of The Drop fame) and Tim Grahl are joined by the ever knowledgeable Anita Campbell who runs SmallBizTrends.com and hosts the Small Business Trends Radio program. She shares her take on the hottest businesses right now and how you can take advantage of them.

Tom:
Had another question for you. I am calling companies ahead of time and asking who I could send some samples and a little more info about our company to. However, when I go in and ask for that person the next day or so, the odds are that, the person I spoke with on the phone will be the same person I am asking if I can speak to Joe the marketing guy (or whoever). Do you think that the secretary will be slightly upset that I said send info to and then I stopped in instead? I was thinking of maybe just saying, I decided it’d be more personal to stop in and drop information off. What do you think? I just don’t want to come off on the wrong foot at the beginning by appearing to lie to the secretary about my intentions. Thanks Tom.

-Bryan
—–

Bryan-
You can take that honesty one step further and just ask the secretary what the process for becoming one of their vendors is/would be. She’ll just flat out tell you what you need to do if you are doing so in a non-threatening, respectful, and ultimately honest way.

I’ve used that technique a hundred times. Just flat out stating, “I know your company does printing, and I wanted to know the most respectful way to try and become your printing vendor.” I realize that you are busy, and I didn’t want to try any tricks, so I figured the best way would be to just come straight out and ask you. When she says, just leave some stuff, you would respond with another radically honest answer, “I realize that you have a lot of people like me come in here every day, and I realize that you and are busy. I would be happy to leave him some information, but I was really hoping to impress , what would YOU suggest I do to impress ? Do YOU think that if I were to send a hand written card, …. would that have any effect?” “Etc, etc. etc. etc.”

This type of honesty will do more good for you than you can imagine. Remember, you are on their team, not your own team…. just ask them. They are at work, you are at work. You’d both rather be doing something, but there is always a way to establish some mutual respect for one another and your respective jobs.

So to directly answer your question, if you are talking to the same person, yes, by all means, just tell them that you thought it would be more personal to stop in and drop the information off in person.

Hope that helps.

Tom Richard

This blog details the history of some famous products and how they were named.

“Lego” is combination of the Danish “leg godt”, which means to “play well.” Lego also means “I put together” in Latin, but LEGO Group claims this is only a coincidence and the etymology of the word is entirely Danish.

Well, it is not hard to figure out that if audio content and podcasts are popular, videos are hovering in the sidelines just waiting to take the lead. Videos are the rage on YouTube and webmasters are figuring out how to use them to drive traffic. Websites like videocasting station are jumping in while the competition is sparse. 2006 will be the year of video.