Thieves Stealing My Articles

ATTENTION: This may not be something new for you but it is for me and I am posting it on all my blogs so you can be aware of article thieves. I just posted the following on my other two blogs and wanted to share it with you also:

"You want to talk about stress, how about the fact that I just discovered that two different people stole original articles that I have written and not given me credit for it!

I contacted both websites and no response so i'm blowing them up right here as well as reporting them. I work too hard writing articles and dumping my brain every day onto paper for people to come along and claim my work.

So here the two lying article thieves have stolen my work and now they are so cowardly they don't even have the decency to reply.

I wrote an article entitled, "STRESS: Is It Your Silent Killer?" and I submitted a copy of it to Ezinearticles (http://ezinearticles.com/?STRESS---Is-it-Your-Silent-Killer?&id=1080550) in March of 2008. The article thief posted it on their blog at burnettconsult.com/stress-is-it-your-silent-killer.htm (and no i didn't create it as a link because why should I help their search engine rankings) word for freaking word! On top of it, he or she has no contact info. on their blog other than a comments form for each post. He/she has not responded to me. The original article is on my site at http://www.stressreliefbyrv.com/stress. You'll notice in the article that I post scriptures in the Bible and everything. I even talk about a situation where I at work and had a difficult time with a co-worker. This person probably doesn't even believe in God!

The other article I wrote, "Understanding Adult Acne and Hormones" was stolen from ezine articles (http://ezinearticles.com/?Understanding-Adult-Acne-and-Hormones&id=2637614) where I am credited as the author but it's posted on kissawayacne.com/2009/07/understanding-adult-acne-and-hormones as if they are the author. The original work (mine) is also on my site at http://www.deadseastorebyrv.com/adult_acne_and_hormones. I talk about how I got adult acne and didn't have it too much as a teen. Notice however that on the original article posted on my site, there is one little line at the very end that does not appear in the ezinearticles version or the thief's copy. It says "I suggest the latter." It's on my site because I'm the author!!!

I guess I shouldn 't be shocked since there are always going to be devious dishonest people in the world but I am. I am so pissed off I can't even begin to express. I have experienced some horrible people talking about me like a dog for the last few days and now this. I don't bother anybody and I keep to myself. Is it too much to ask for people to treat me the way I treat them???

Blogging is a great outlet for me to write but I certainly don't appreciate that all of my writing is being done to be stolen and profited by someone else. However, the Bible says that you will reap what you have sown so for all of the article thieves, back biters, liars and the like I say this: "You will have your day when you have to stand before the God of the universe to give an account for every evil deed and you WILL pay for everything you have done unless you repent.

That's all I have to say. I'm going to try and enjoy my weekend and I hope everyone reading does the same."

Benefits of A Home Based Service Business

If you have decided that you want to start a home based service business but are having difficulty deciding what type of home based service business to start, then first consider the benefits.

A Home Based Service Business has many benefits including

• If you have a certain skill set or certain talents, you can meet a need that exists in the business world and get paid for it (cha-ching!)
  
• You can run your business right out of your home
• If your new service business consists of doing things that were once a hobby, hey you now probably have most of the supplies and equipment you need to take it to the next level
• You have very little overhead. No need to rent office space. You are already paying rent or a note on your home, not to mention other utilities. All that's left to buy now is any equipment you may need like a computer and fax machine (if you don't have them already)
• While you are accountable to getting work done for your client, you can now set your own hours

A home based service business is a really good alternative for people who have little money to get started. If you are like me, this is sounding better and better because most of us were not born with a silver spoon in our mouths yet we want to be able to have the work/home life balance that many companies out of the home do not afford.

Here are some resources on a few popular home based service businesses that you may be interested in:

Santa Letter Business (this one sounds like fun and would be a cool part time gig)
Transcription Business
Virtual Assistant Business

Graphic Design Business Featured

Featured: Michelle Da'Vella, Graphic Designer

1- What influenced your decision to become a graphic designer?

I was an Advertising Art Direction major and was hesitant to go into the Ad Agency world because of all the horror stories of being burnt out at 30. I have also been super independent and working for myself has always been ideal. I worked at a cafe and my customers needed graphic work so I started designing for them and realized I could make a living this way and still use my education.

2- Tell us a little about your professional background in the graphic design industry.

Right out of college I began doing freelance work and then interned at a denim store where I did all of the graphics for the company. I also started working for a clothing line, Vintage Blue, branding and doing all the graphics and marketing as well. I became so involved in both companies I became a partner. I continued to do my freelance design work on the side. For the two years the denim store, Denim Society, was open I was completely focused on the two companies and my design work was put on the back burner except for the business design work. Once our store closed down I started really focusing on getting my graphic design career off the ground.

3- Michelle, what have you discovered to be the most important marketing tool for small businesses and home based business owners?

I'm a big fan of just networking- through the internet, in person, whatever. Make conversation with people because you never know who you are talking to or what they may be in need of. It never hurts to ask- but it sure will help you.

4- Tell all my home business owners out there the basic items they should obtain to promote a professional image.

Obviously the quality of your product is important, but your brand identity is essential to providing a professional look. There are far too many businesses out there that look extremely unprofessional and that will reflect on your business. Make sure you have a logo, color scheme, and overall look and feel that fits your business. Make sure it is readable to your demographic. Invest in a good functioning website and email address that ends with your domain name because the online market is immense and if someone finds you on the internet and has no reference for who you are you may lose them.

5- Besides being a graphic designer, do you use your expertise towards any other business ventures you are connected to?

Yes, as I mentioned earlier I am the sole graphic designer at Vintage Blue, an eco friendly sportswear line for women.

6- Please tell us more.

I have some other side projects that are in the works but they aren't ready to be revealed yet!

7- I once read something you said about a brand having a consistent look and feel. Please explain further.

It's so important for your brand to be cohesive. It needs to look like everything fits together and makes sense. So for example, Vintage Blue is vintage inspired but is also putting a twist on the old and making it new. Our brand is old looking, but still vibrant and exciting. If you went to one of the pages on our website and all of a sudden started seeing really masculine fonts and black backgrounds it wouldn't fit. Each element implemented in your brand whether it's an email blast, printed flyer, business card, or website should all mesh together.

8- In your professional opinion are there any standards for website design?

Yes, of course. Usability is super important. If you have a pretty site and no one knows where to go you will lose them, which defeats the purpose entirely. You also typically want to keep your main navigation simple and either horizontal at the top or vertical to the left. A really great reference is a book I read in college called Don't Make Me Think! by Steve Krug. It's about keeping it simple and making sense. But still make it look good!

9- What should a small business owner or entrepreneur look for in a graphic designer?

Make sure they click with you. When you look at their work look at the details- make sure they are clean and forward thinking. I think it's important to build a lasting relationship with a designer you can trust who can really get to know your brand. This will help it evolve.

10- Lastly, tell my readers how they can get a hold of you and where they can find you online

Email me at michelledavella@gmail.com and check out my site at http://www.michelledavella.com and follow my blog for new work and tid bits at http://michelledavella.wordpress.com AND last but not least, my clothing line, http://www.vintage-blue.com

Is Becoming a Virtual Assistant for Me?

Most of the posts I've been writing on this blog have been for people who already have a home based business and want to be more successful at it. But what if you haven't decided on the type of home based business you want to start?

Well, there are many options out there but you have to decide what's best for you. So, with that I've made it one of my goals (don't you you just love that word?:-) to also try and help those who are still deciding on what type of business (products or services) they want to run from home.

Without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to "Becoming a Virtual Assistant"

What does a Virtual Assistant do you wonder? What doesn't she do (or he)! A virtual assistant in lamens terms is an administrative assistant that performs an array of jobs for large and small companies. The difference is the flexibility to work from home and rather than work for someone else's company directly, you are a contractor.

Virtual assistant responsibilities may include managing emails, handling client inquiries, maintaining schedules, transcribing, typing, creating presentations accounting and even setting up profiles and accounts on social networks like Twitter, Facebook or Linked In.

How Do You Know That Becoming a Virtual Assistant is right for you?

Well you can start by asking yourself a few questions:

1- Do I like performing secretarial/administrative tasks?
2- Do I have access to a computer, fax machine, phone, and internet access?
3- Do I have strong office and business administration skills? If not, do I want to learn them?

Learn More About Becoming A Virtual Assistant here

The demand for Virtual Assistants has skyrocketed in the last few years. Companies can hire a virtual assistant to take care of a number of jobs without having to provide a desk or even health insurance. Virtual assistants can save companies lots of money but they can make lots of money as well. I don't know about you but if I had the choice of working in an office for someone making what they determine I should make vs. working from home so I can be near my family and setting my own rates based on what IIII determine I should make, I'll take the latter.

image courtesy of www.cybergirl.net
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Michelle Howard Smith is President of Reviyve LLC, a n online based personal care products business and she's on a mission to help others fulfill their dream of working from home. To subscribe to one of Michelle's monthly newsletters, click Subscribe to Stress Less Newsletter OR Subscribe to Skin Naturale Newsletter

Making Money With Article Marketing

So by now you guys (and gals) should know me. I absolutely looooove to share information and resources with my fellow work from home enthusiasts!

Well, this is a great one and it isn't going to cost you much but it will cost you something...a little time and a little money. But hey it's worth it and nothing worth achieving is completely free.

It's all about article writing to increase your presence on the web. When you increase your web presence and begin to trust you, they are easier to convert into customers. One way to do this is with article marketing. Now, I've written quite a few articles but I don't yet have the level of traffic I want but I'm getting there. That's when I discovered Articology.

I recently read an e-book by Lisa Angelettie (Author of www.GirlShrink.com - the #1 Advice and counseling site online) about Article Marketing that has made me realize that I may not be doing my article marketing correctly ...or at the very least maybe I'm leaving some strategies out.

Lisa has an Articology Article Marketing Training Program that I subscribed to and I suggest all my home business owners with websites do the same. When you sign up for the program, you will learn the following:

• How To continuously generate content ideas that people want to read!
• Article submission secrets
• How To Creating weekly articles in 30 minutes or less!
• How to optimize your articles with keywords for the search engines!
• How to re-purpose your articles into MANY income revenue streams!
• How to test and track your articles and learn what to write more articles!
• Tricks and techniques for eliminating common article marketing mistakes

Subscribe to the Articology Article Marketing Training Program here

Visit Lisa at http://LisaAngelettie.com

Daily Marketing Plan

Over the last few days ago I've really been thinking about ways to get my home business to the next level. I know that My Father God blesses everything I set my hands to but I have to ask myself, "Is what I'm setting my hand to being done in the most effective way?" By that I mean, "Do I have any direction?" Well, I discovered that I'm usually all over the place. I do a little of this and a little of that....Go on Twitter for a few minutes a week, no specific day; write an article or two once in a while; constantly changing the look and feel of my websites without really tracking them. Boy, I haven't even checked my Adwords and Adsense account in God knows when.

This behavior is not productive and I've discovered that while I am a full time working mom, I can build more success with my internet marketing business if I develop some consistency and a plan....a daily marketing plan that is.

Building a successful online business is a lot of work. There are so many things that MUST be done on a consistent basis in order to maintain traction in the online world. So, now that I'm working from a daily schedule, here are the things I focus on:

• Spending specific time reading articles and commenting on Linked In
• Spending regular time interacting with folks on Twitter, participating in discussions related to my business and sharing information
• Writing 2 articles per week (1 for each of my sites) and submitting them to article directories like Ezinearticles.com
• Bookmarking my articles on social bookmark sites like de.li.cious, stumble upon and reddit
• Checking my ppc ad accounts once a week to check my ad performance
• Writing 1 Squidoo lens weekly to share information about topics and products related to my business and then bookmarking those lenses
  
• Working on my company newsletters once a week so I can have completed content by the first of each month
• Checking the stats for each of my websites and tracking changes
  
• Emailing my list specials on a weekly basis tailored just for their needs
• Blogging on my 3 blogs twice weekly (sometimes scheduling posts when I get a ton of stuff to say all in a short period of time) - 2 of my blogs Fresh Radiant Skin and Stress & Alternative Pain Relief are for me displaying my knowledge in my fields of natural skin care and alternative pain relief & stress management. My 3rd blog, the one you are now reading is for me to give back to the online community. I believe in helping others succeed one because no one ever just "arrives." We all have help along the way. Another reason is because I will also be helping pave my own way to success. In each of my blogs I like to display my personality so that you all can get to know me. I'm pretty transparent really. I like to joke around, exhibit a little sarcasm and even get a little serious when I'm sharing the latest news in the industries. However, I also love to write and converse with others in general which is why I hope my readership will pick up. How quickly you all will discover how much I have to say!
  

So, I have a set amount of time for myself each day to complete these tasks and I highly recommend the habit of working from a schedule to anyone building a home based business, especially an internet marketing business. When scheduling time for yourself to complete tasks, it's important to remember that discipline is essential. Don't do other things like check your email first or you may never get to your "assigned" tasks. Check your email after you've completed your To Do scheduled items. This will keep you on track as well as help with your time management.

Finally, remember that Rome was not built in a day. Don't get discouraged. Hard work barely fails to pay off. You can be successful and I hope that we can be on this journey together. I will share my learnings while building my business and I hope you will share yours.

God Bless and Here's to Fruitfulness in Business!

Tupperware and Watkins Home Business Feature

Featured: Suzanne Laukka
Tupperware & Watkins Home Business Entrepreneur

Bio: Suzanne has been married to Danny Laukka for 27 years. They have 3 sons and reside in the North Georgia Mountains. Suzanne has owned a pet shop for 16 years, has been a Tupperware Consultant for a year and a half and an independent Watkins associate for 3 years. In her spare
time, Suzanne enjoys reading and watching television.

1. So Suzanne, you appear to be a jack of all trades, creating streams of income from a variety of multi-level marketing sources. Please share those sources and tell my readers what’s working best for you

When I started looking for a home business to help with the family finances, I wanted to make sure that the company had been around for a while so I wouldn't be so worried about being scammed. My sister reminded me of all the years my Mom and Grandma used Watkins products and she saw an ad for The Summit Group and how to become an Independent Watkins Associate. I took the tour through the site and I just knew this was the business for me when introducing my Independent Watkins Business to a friend from one of my groups, she began telling me about her Tupperware business. I love Tupperware and to help her out, signed up underneath her so she would profit off of my own personal sales. Being around for years, Watkins and Tupperware products pretty much sell themselves. I do very well with both of my home businesses.

2. What influenced your decision to offer the products you are selling?

That Watkins has been around for over 140 years and has good quality products and that Tupperware is still going strong after 60 plus years. I have used the products myself and to me they are definitely better than the store bought products.

3. What do you find are your most responsive channels of marketing?

I do a lot of internet advertising, ads in newspapers, fliers, etc.... I seem to get the most response from people after they get to know me a little bit and realize that I am a real person that believes in my businesses and their products.

4. How do you manage to work out of the home as well as promote your home business?

It's not as hard as most people think it is. During my day at work, in between customers, paperwork, inventory, etc... I stamp fliers, talk to people about Watkins and Tupperware, make phone calls. Before and after work I drop off orders and when at home in between supper, laundry and housecleaning, I work on my advertising and meeting new people on my groups. I give out catalogs when I pay my bills, my kids functions, and other times when I am out and about.

5. Do you conduct parties? If so, how do you get folks interested in your products at those parties?

I do an occasional party and its a lot of fun to show people the quality of the products. I bring in some of the Watkins products to taste test also. The products sell themselves.

6. In your personal opinion, what would you say has been your biggest personal success?

I think it would be making a decent living with my 3 businesses and still be able to raise a happy and healthy family.

7. Your biggest failure (bear in mind that this is your perception and may not be

considered a failure by others)?

I can be a procrastinator and I am very unorganized. I am constantly looking for things I have misplaced and put off many things on my to do list until I am frantically trying to get it all done at once. Unfortunately, I have passed this on to my kids. That really bothers me. (You and I are a lot alike here! There's always room for improvement)

8. What are your plans for the future?

I hope to be able to sell my Pet Shop and pay off my house with the money. That way I can go farther with my businesses and be here when my kids get home from school. I also have an elderly Father that I would like to spend more time with instead of just lunch on Sundays.

9. What advice would you give to those who are interested in joining a multi-level

marketing company?

Keep in mind that you don't make millions over night. It takes work to make it a success. Believe in your products and yourself and don't quit. You can do it!

10. Where can people find you online to purchase your products and to network with you?

I belong to many ning groups. Also you can reach me through my sites. I'd love to meet you and get to know you. My Tupperware site is http://www.mytupperware.com/SuzanneLaukka click on the contact me link or http://www.tsginfo.com/index.php?rc=AK6449 Put in your name and e-mail and I will contact you. Thank you Michelle for this opportunity to let everyone get to know me a little bit. Looking forward to hearing from everyone.

Visit Suzanne's sites for a much wider selection of products.... You'll find just the right product for your home.