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I did an interview this morning on “How to be an Expert and Build your Business” and I also shared a few insights from the Social Media Marketing Conference I attended in Las Vegas yesterday. This session is info packed. Listen, learn and then get into action. Click here to listen now: http://bit.ly/gkHeMW

As someone who does a lot of writing on a regular basis, I find there are certain words that I have to use the spell check over and over and I bet you have a similar experience. In that vein, here is a list of 25 often used, commonly misspelled words, of course spelled correctly.

I have put them in a column so that you can print out the list and post it on the very edge of the far left side of your monitor to review everyday to learn once and for all the words on this list that have delayed your creative process in the past. I recommend you highlight the ones that give you the most grief.

I hope you find this a valuable tool.

allege

amateur

apparent

believe

caffeine

colleague

committed

complimentary

conscious

conscience

definitely

exercise

exceed

grateful

hierarchy

humorous

liaison

maneuver

privilege

queue

receive

recommend

rhythm

separate

transferred

It was held at what I thought ahead of time was an unlikely location – Uptown Body & Fender in Oakland. Turns out the place is perfect, with its brick walls and clean floors. Owner Giovanna Tanzillo has a great event space that you can rent out.

I so enjoy these networking events where I meet new people and run into women I have known in the Bay Area Business community for many years now. Are you getting out there and meeting enough people these days to expand and keep up your network?

One of the highlights of the afternoon was hearing Meagan Connolly Haupt, owner of C5 custom jewelry http://www.c5company.com Meagan talked about the importance of making sure your business reflects your values. Her other two tips for business success were to be sure to take time to plan and to get out there and network.

Her company is one of about 20 jewelry companies in the United States that creates recycled and sustainable jewelry. That means when her jewelry is made it leaves a small carbon footprint, compared to the tons (I can not remember if she said 2 or 10 tons) of mining waste that is created for each gold ring we put on our fingers. Wow! That is a shocker.

I predict that buying only sustainable jewelry which also includes gems made in a lab instead of mined, will be the next big consumer trend, just like we no longer buy animal furs or aerosol products and the latest trend you are now seeing is organic fabrics being promoted and used in clothing manufacturing.

By the way my new favorite thing is my Hanes® Organically Grown Sleep Shirt, that is so soft you will love how it feels against your skin. I got mine from my Avon lady, Dortha Hise http://www.youravon.com/dhise. The sleep shirt is on sale right now.

In our business, and with our consumer spending dollars, it is so important to be sure that the way we do business and the way we spend our own money reflects who we want to be in the world. Equally important is to be aware of the environmental impact of the way we do business. I encourage you to be conscious of what you promote with the consumer dollars you spend. The fur industry tanked because people stopped buying furs.

Something to think about.  Anything for you to do?

In this article, you will find tips that you can use when using social networking sites to build your business.

Those tips are:

•    Read the terms and conditions
When joining a social networking site, read the terms and conditions to see what type of advertising restrictions they have. If you violate those terms, then your account may be deleted or worse. Sometimes it pays to avoid heavy marketing on some of the larger sites such as MySpace and Facebook. The smaller sites such as Yuwie tend to be more lenient toward advertising. Some even encourage it.

•    Aim for smaller social networking sites
Marketing your business on the big social networking sites can be quite tempting because there are so many people on them. Thinking of that type of exposure can seduce common sense and land you in some trouble. As stated in the first tip, it is good to avoid any heavy marketing on the larger sites such as MySpace and Facebook. Sometimes you have to avoid it all together since sites like MySpace have a function where those you are marketing to can mark your messages as SPAM. There have even been instances in which lawsuits have been brought against those sending out what is considered SPAM. Even if your intentions are pure, it is good to resist the temptation.

•    Use social networking blogs
Many of the social network sites have a blog function. Some of them such as Livejournal and Blogger are centered around blogs, but offer social networking options for users. You can use the blogs to talk about your service to those who visit it. You can also use your other social networking accounts to market your blog by providing a link to it somewhere on the page. Even talking about your business in your MySpace blog is not a bad thing. That is one way you can get away with marketing on the large social networking sites.

•    Market to other businesses
You would be surprised how many businesses have created social networking sites. Market yourself to those businesses, especially if you have services they can use. Then again, they are increasing your exposure by adding you to their friends list. If you can, reach an agreement with that business for the week to list you as a top friend and you will do the same for them. That way, you can help each other out.

•    Utilize all of the site’s functions
Social networking sites provide a number of different functions to their users. As stated before, blogging is one of those functions. Other functions include networking, groups, classifieds and forums.

You can use the networking function to connect with individuals who have an interest in your services. Be sure to hook up to these available networks. You can also join groups of people with the same interests and create groups of your own. When you create a group, you can invite individuals to join. They then have the option to accept or decline your invitation. They also have the option to search for a group such as yours. This is a great way to market to individuals who have a genuine interest in what you do. You can also use the classified ads to post ads about your business. The only tricky one is the forums. You don’t want to SPAM people’s posts with information regarding your business. You want to look for posts that are relevant to your business or business in general. There may be even more features for you to use to your advantage, so be sure to explore every aspect of the site so that you can form a plan.

Despite the amount of marketing that occurs on social networking sites, these online meeting places are still largely untapped. You can develop your own strategy based on what portals the site gives you to market your business. You can also create one profile page or you can create multiple profile pages to highlight each and every one of your services. If that sounds good to you, simple Google a list of the networking sites on the web and get started utilizing social networking sites to build your business.

Paying Attention to Your Self-talk
Everything you say to yourself either serves you or sabotages you. Do you tell yourself you can do it, do you tell yourself you deserve it or do you tell yourself something different, something less supportive? Turn those thoughts around and replace them with positive self talk. Positive thoughts add vitality to your body- negative thoughts deplete your vitality- it is the physiological truth.

Take Time at the End of Each Day to Plan for The Next Day
Take 15 minutes to clear your desk and make a list of the top three-five things you need to get done tomorrow. Then once you get those done, you can go back and pick five more. The truth is our brains can’t handle more than a few main things at a time.

Focus on One Thing at a Time
Work on one project, one set of phone calls, one proposal, at a time. It is more productive. Ignore all those emails coming in and get that proposal done and out the door, or make those follow-up/check-in calls you have been putting off. Then move on to the next most important thing. Yes, I know we all (especially women) like to think that we can dance with the myriad of tasks on our voluminous To Do List.  The truth is, we can get a lot more done by focusing on one thing at a time. Also, you will be surprised at how much less time that big project will take when you put your full attention on it.

And lastly, laugh and have a little fun every day. Life it to enjoy.

Feel free to post a question in the comments area and I will do my best to respond in a future blog entry. Also, let me know what you think about the above ideas.