This last weekend we went camping and I was astonished at how much different and peaceful I felt. I found myself longing for more simplicity in my life. There was a time when laying underneath the stars was more important to me than how many visitors my website had last month. While that may sound superficial, I know I have followed my heart 100% to get where I am today.

The words of truth are always paradoxical.

-Lao Tzu

So today I am faced with the task of ‘getting back into the swing of things”, yet I don’t want to lose the peace I experienced this past weekend.

By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond the winning.

-Lao Tzu

OK, so I shouldn’t hold onto anything, even peace. I should let it go - I get that. What I don’t get is how? How do you let go of things that feel so important that your life depends on it? My business almost feels like a spiritual journey at times, especially when I focus on our goal of contributing to our community. I get confused because sometimes I feel like I give more to others than I give to myself.

To realize that you do not understand is a virtue; Not to realize that you do not understand is a defect.

-Lao Tzu

Zen and the Art of Entrepreneurship

Great. So I don’t understand. Yet I am tasked with moving forward regardless. I must continue to build my business, I know in my heart it is what I was born to do. Yet I don’t know what to let go of, and I don’t understand what to do next, and am beginning to wonder WTH I am doing. I’m stuck.

“Let’s consider a reevaluation of the situation in which we assume that the stuckness now occurring, the zero of consciousness, isn’t the worst of all possible situations, but the best possible situation you could be in. After all, it’s exactly this stuckness that Zen Buddhists go to so much trouble to induce; through koans, deep breathing, sitting still and the like. Your mind is empty, you have a “hollow-flexible” attitude of “beginner’s mind”. You’re right at the front end of the train of knowledge, at the track of reality itself. Consider, for a change, that this is a moment to be not feared but cultivated. If your mind is truly, profoundly stuck, then you may be much better off than when it was loaded with ideas.

“The solution to the problem often at first seems unimportant or undesirable, but the state of stuckness allows it, in time, to assume its true importance. It seemed small because your previous rigid evaluation which led to the stuckness made it small.

“But now consider the fact that no matter how hard you try to hang on to it, this stuckness is bound to disappear. Your mind will naturally and freely move toward a solution. Unless you are a real master at staying stuck you can’t prevent this. The fear of stuckness is needless because the longer you stay stuck the more you see the Quality-reality that gets you unstuck every time. What’s really been getting you stuck is the running from the stuckness through the cars of your train of knowledge looking for a solution that is out in front of the train.

“Stuckness shouldn’t be avoided. It’s the psychic predecessor of all real understanding. An egoless acceptance of stuckness is a key to an understanding of all Quality, in mechanical work as in other endeavors.”

-Robert M. Pirsig, Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

OK, so maybe I am where I am supposed to be. But I don’t like it. This is the hardest part of being an entrepreneur. Knowing there is no one to follow, yet you might just lead yourself into disaster. The wall of self-doubt can be suffocating at times.

Where there is great doubt, there will be great awakening; small doubt, small awakening, no doubt, no awakening.

-Lao Tzu

Heh. Guess I am on the right track, then.

Tracy Johnson for Business.gov

Any successful business owner will tell you marketing your small business begins with research.  The experts can direct you to the best methods for performing research and provide you with successful strategies for market research, but a lot of the statistics and demographic information you desire can be obtained, for free, from the government.

The government collects oodles of data that is public information.  The data can be immensely useful when pulling together your marketing plan and can help you cite accurate statistics without spending a ton of money on a custom market research engagement.  These tools certainly are not a substitute for quality market research such as surveys and focus groups, but rather provide helpful data to frame that research.  For a lot of start-ups; however, the research budget is minimal.  If that is the case for your business, these stats can be leveraged to build the framework of your marketing plan.

General government Statistics

Fed Stats gathers data across over 100 agencies, states, counties, congressional districts, and cities to provide a comprehensive purview by location or by topic.

The Statistical Abstract of the United States, published since 1878, is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States.  The abstract is prepared by the Census Bureau, but collects data from many Federal agencies.

The Census Bureau also releases reports for business owners called the Statistics of U.S. Businesses including detailed analysis of companies, establishments, employment, and annual payroll.

Another great resource for statistics specific to small businesses is the Small Business Administration’s Office of Economic Research.  Reports from this office include:

Entrepreneurship: The Foundation for Economic Renewal in the Gulf Coast Region [PDF file] - The proceedings from the 2006 New Orleans conference include; presentation summaries, powerpoint presentations, and conference participants.

The Impact of Regulatory Costs of Small Firms (Update) - Analyzes the cost of regulations on small and large firms. This study updates two earlier reports from 1995 and 2001.

Small Business Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - [HTML file] - Provides answers to basic questions about small business. [PDF file] - [Text file]

Research Resources - designed as a portal to direct faculty, students, and researchers to small business data and research.

The Small Business Economy: 2007 [Research Summary] - This is an annual reference source on small business’ performance in the economy. To obtain a printed copy, see the U.S.Government Online Bookstore . (Text synopsis version) (historical versions (1996-2001) (2002-2006).

You can also subscribe to the Department of Commerce’s Stat USA subscription for updated information on federal business, trade, and economics.

Additional Resources

www.business.gov/market-research

Keep an eye out for Part II of Free Market Research for government information on demographics.

Tracy Johnson is a Senior Manager with ENC Marketing & Communications. She has the pleasure juggling a variety of clients from both the Information Technology and U.S. Government worlds. She brings a fresh perspective to problem solving for clients often integrating interactive marketing solutions with traditional communication methods. One of her top current clients is the Business Gateway Initiative, where she and the BG team provide marketing and outreach services for Business.gov.

Can’t. Stop. Giggling.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year from Staples via @BarbaraJones.

As the world of the internet goes faster and faster, sometimes very helpful ways to promote your business may get “lost in the dust” and forgotten. This week I wanted to bring up a few alternative promotional methods you may have not thought about in a while. It is possible you haven’t even tried some of these methods and they could be the way for you to receive some wonderful connections. Once you are done reading this post, I hope it will possible stir up some new possible promotional opportunities you may not have thought about before or ones you may wish to revisit. Important to remember: know your target market and know their habits so you aren’t wasting unnecessary time and energy.

1) Banner or Button Ads –

For Banner Ads or button ads, these can be effective for promoting your business.

If you are unfamiliar with how a banner ad works:

~You will need to ask a logo or graphic designer to put together a banner or button ad for you.

~Logo or graphic designer creates a banner or button ad for you to complement your branding (such as your newsletter, website, and letterhead)

~Place them where your target market will see them and know if these are something that your target market will click on to send them to your website or blog. (**see the “things to remember” section below)

2) Other Social Networking - It seems like the bigger buzz lately on the web has been around Twitter and Facebook. And I would seem to agree those are more viable methods however, I have been reminded to give MySpace and Squidoo (individual web page focused on specific subject) another look. (Thanks to Lynn Terry and Michelle Waters).

3) Local Networking – Check out local offline networking groups such as Meetup.com, business associations (such as NAFE or FNI). You can also find those more focused on certain target markets such as Holistic Businesses or Baby Boomers). For your online business, it could be a way to connect with your local community and allow you to create possible joint ventures, cross promotion or sponsorship opportunities.

4) Local Article Marketing – You are probably familiar with online article marketing banks such as Ezine articles or Ladypens, however, you may wish to also look at local community publications to find out article submission guidelines.(Teresa’s Tip: Google search phrases such as “Wellness journals in <insert your state>”. Also, it is better to offer an article along with an ad instead of just an ad only because it lends more credibility.)

Points to Remember:

1) Know your ideal client – Hey, it seems as you are get “bet up” with this idea however, it can save you time and money if you are better focused on who your ideal client or target market is geared towards.

2) Know the habits of your customers – You can hear my Tuesday Minute Tip to help illustrate this point. This will eliminate you “spinning your wheels” in your promotional efforts.

3) Take action on these points. Nothing can be found out unless you take action.

4) Always remember: Be flexible and open to change, update and try new things. If something doesn’t work, don’t be afraid to try something else. As your ideal client’s habits change, you may need to change your promotional efforts.

As the speed of the world becomes faster and social culture changes, isn’t it amazing sometimes how things come back around again. This post is to just remind you of a few things you may not have thought of in awhile (or not at all) that could work well for your specific business and/or target market. As your customers’ habit change, you may need to change your promotional efforts.

Teresa Morrow is on Florida Board of Advisors with The WECAI Network ™ (http://www.wecai.org) and an Editor at Large at WE Magazine for Women ™ (http://www.wemagazineforwomen). She has over 15 years working with various industries to include property management, landscape architecture and financial planning firms in executive administrative positions. In 2007, Teresa started Key Business Partners, a online promotional company. She helps coaches, speakers and writers by handling all the details of online promotion efforts. She cares about her clients and is available for 20 minute free consultation. You can contact her via email at keybusinesspartners@verizon.net or visit her website at http://www.keybusinesspartners.com.

Let’s get connected:

MySpace

Squidoo

Twitter

Some of the best advice I’ve ever heard has come in unassuming moments in casual conversation. Moments when I was relaxed and just open to something new.

I can recall many moments like that with my grandfather. My grandfather loved birds. He used to sit for hours watching finches fly in and out of the five story bird house he built. The bird house was on the end of a pole about 30 feet above the ground. We’d lay back in lawn chairs and just watch the birds.

Every fall I’d help my grandfather take down the bird house for cleaning, repair and storage. It was huge and so high up that he’d developed a rather elaborate pulley system to bring it down.

One such day, when I was 8, we were lowering the bird house. I was holding one of the main pulley ropes. Under the weight of the bird house, my hands became strained and began to hurt. I told my grandfather, “My hands hurt, I can’t hold it.”

His response, “Don’t focus on your hands hurting. What you focus is on expands. So if you think about the pain in your hands, it’ll get bigger. Instead, focus on getting the bird house down.”

You know he was right, of course. I stopped focusing on how much my hands hurt and the pain got less. I held the rope until the bird house was safely down.

I’ve never forgotten that phrase: what you focus on expands. Through the next three decades I found it very useful. But not only useful, I’ve found it to be truth. Every time I focus on things that are negative or painful, that thing increases. And when I focus on beauty or love that’s what increases.

So how does this relate to business?

Simple, really. When you run a business you’re faced with problems and decisions all the time. Some problems can get so large that they can stop us from not only making good decisions, but making decisions at all. That’s why I consider the problem but I don’t focus on it. Rather, I focus on the solution.

It’s easy to focus on the problem - especially the large ones. They get in your line of sight and seem to become like a wall that won’t let you look through it.

But there’s always a way to look beyond the problem; to alter your focus so that you can find the space outside the problem. I focus there. Then, I focus on finding the solution from outside the constraints of the problem. I don’t let the limits of the problem hem me in to one way of thinking. Rather, I let my focus expand to the point that it contains the problem and more. And it’s in the more that I most often find the solution.

What you focus on really does matter. Give it a try and see what you think.

Have you had any experiences of an unexpected wisdom? How have they changed your life? Your business?

As blogs become more a part of mainstream media, I sometimes wonder where blogging will be 10 years from now. Will they evolve to become magazine-style content sites, or will we outgrow them like we did the Gopher protocol? Will they become more commercial entities, or will blogs always be a tool with which one person can amplify their voice and make a difference?

Regardless of where blogs end up, some blogs won’t be here 10 years from now. In fact, some estimate that 60%-80% of blogs are abandoned within 1 month of their start. You’d think that big, established blogs would be sure to find a way to survive no matter how the blogging industry evolves.

But just like anything else, some will close, get shut down, or go out of business - just like these 9 blogs below.

SOHO Xiaobao

Beijing Birds Nest Stadium

With the Olympics in full swing in Beijing, it has been no secret that the Chinese government has been cracking down on controlling their image in front of a world audience. Sohoxiaobao, a popular Chinese blogging site, has been shut down in the run-up to the events, though for now they ‘claim’ they will reopen after the games.

The translation of what can be found at Sohoxiaobao.com today says:

Notice of SOHO Xiaobao’s temporary closure

Due to lack of self-discipline of the part of a few netizens in posting sensitive information to their former blogs not in accordance with the discussion requirements, SOHO Xiaobao is temporarily closed. We are currently in the process of applying to have it reopened.

Service has now stopped; all data will be saved, and usage will resume upon further notice. Thank you everyone for your understanding and support!

At the same time, everyone is asked, in their care for SOHO Xiaobao, to be cautious of what they write during the Olympic period, and the posting of illegal information is strictly forbidden.

SOHO Xiaobao
July 18, 2008

Creating Passionate Users

Many people may not remember the absolutely kick-ass blog that was Creating Passionate Users. Author Kathy Sierra wrote about usability, marketing, and branding from the perspective of the consumer - her writing was phenomenal, and her illustrations became her trademark. She also held a spot in the Technorati top 50 blogs, and was a frequent conference speaker in the usually male-dominated tech field.

Featuritis appears courtesy of Creating Passionate Users

But in March of 2007, Kathy was cyber-attacked and started receiving death threats. In response, she shut down her blog and stopped speaking at conferences. In fact, Robert Scoble shut down his blog for a week in support of her decision. But in the end, bullies won and both we and Kathy lost an incredibly wonderful blog.

Kaboom: A Soldier’s War Journal

Lieutenant G - or LT G - is in the US Army fighting in Iraq. Until recently, he was chronicling his war experience on a Blogspot blog, Kaboom. He was usually quite candid about his experiences. Unfortunately, that candor got him in trouble, and he was ordered to stop writing. In his last post, he explains:

Due to a rash posting on my part, and decisions made above my pay-grade, I have been ordered to stop posting on Kaboom, effective immediately. Though I committed no OPSEC violations, due to a series of extenuating circumstances - the least of which was me being on leave - my “The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage” post on May 28 did not go through the normal vetting channels. It’s totally on me, as it was too much unfiltered truth. I’m a soldier first, and orders are orders. So it is.

Wired covered the story - and shares both perspectives on why the blog ended. Some called it a ‘Major Suck. Major Foul.“. Others thought he had it coming.

Know More Media

Not just a blog, but a blog network of over 100 blogs, Know More Media (KMM) recently ended operations. They do hope to reorganize and revive the business someday, but the closure sent waves through the blogosphere as people realized that blog networks aren’t all they are cracked up to be.

KMM made the mistake of having too many eggs in one basket - and when slapped with a penalty from Google, they found they could not recover. While I was personally very sad that it happened, I do hope it was a good lesson for other online publishers to ensure they didn’t rely on any one source of traffic or income to pay the mortgage.

Calacanis.com

When a huge blogger stops blogging, it’s a big deal. When Jason Calacanis announced his retirement from blogging, it was one of the biggest deals of all. Jason’s action was more of a statement than anything else. He felt like blogging had changed so much since he started that he didn’t want to be a part of it anymore:

The “a-list” pressure, the TechMeme leaderboard debates, and constant accusations of link-baiting are now too much of a distraction… Today the blogosphere is so charged, so polarized, and so filled with haters hating that it’s simply not worth it. I’d rather watch from the sidelines and be involved in a smaller, more personal, conversation.

While I agree that blogging has drastically changed - even since I started a little over 2 years ago - I wasn’t a part of the TechMeme world (Ok, I was. Once). So I haven’t faced the haters that Jason mentions. Today he instead is running a private mailing list… I’m not so sure about the logistics of that decision, but I do give him credit for doing something to maintain contact with his readers.

William Patry’s Copyright Blog

William Patry has been blogging for a long time - longer, in fact, than he has been with his current employer. But that didn’t stop most people from associating his views with his company’s views - and when you work for a company like Google, that is indeed a difficult position to be in.

But that wasn’t the only reason William quit blogging - while recognized as a leading expert on copyright law, he was finding that his topic, once a source of passion - had become depressing.

Copyright law has abandoned its reason for being: to encourage learning and the creation of new works. Instead, its principal functions now are to preserve existing failed business models, to suppress new business models and technologies, and to obtain, if possible, enormous windfall profits from activity that not only causes no harm, but which is beneficial to copyright owners. Like Humpty-Dumpty, the copyright law we used to know can never be put back together again: multilateral and trade agreements have ensured that, and quite deliberately.

It is profoundly depressing, after 26 years full-time in a field I love, to be a constant voice of dissent.

Depressing indeed.

Woeser’s Blog

Woeser's Blog

It doesn’t take Olympic games to get China riled up. Five little letters usually do the trick: T-I-B-E-T. Tsering Woeser, a Tibetan who has been an outspoken critic of the Chinese occupation of her country, used to post articles and poems to her Woeser Blog. In 2006, Chinese officials contacted her hosting company and the blogs were shut down. And as recently as 2008, she and her husband Wang Lixiong were under house arrest in Beijing after speaking to reporters.

There are conflicting reports as to whether Woeser has been able to resurrect her old writings on a new blog. While Woeser.org is coming up dead, as recently as May of this year, it was reported as being live. There does seem to be live, recent content at Woeser.Middle-Way.net, but since it is all in Chinese, I can’t confirm that she is officially ‘back’.

Washingtonienne

Jessica Cutler

In 2004, Jessica Cutler, a former aide to Sen. Mike DeWine, Ohio Republican, created a blog to keep a few friends up-to-date on her ’social life’. Turns out her social life included juggling a sexual relationship with 6 different men, one of whom was Robert Steinbuch. At the time, Steinbuch was the general counsel to Senator DeWine on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

In 2006, Ana Marie Cox of Wonkette outed the affair - of course followed by the expected resignations, firings, and embarassments. And not surprisingly, her blog quickly vanished. Even less surprisingly, Steinbuch filed a $20MM lawsuit against her. The lawsuit is being eyed closely by online privacy groups because it could establish if online bloggers are obligated to protect the privacy of those they name in their online diaries.

ThinkSecret

ThinkSecret was founded in 1998 as an Apple/Mac rumor site. I’m sure that Apple was just waiting for the opportunity to quiet the site, which they found in 2004. The site leaked information about the Mac Mini and the iWork productivity suite prior to the official announcement at MacWorld.

Apple sued for “posting Apple trade secrets and encouraging and inducing persons to provide product information in breach of agreements.” Site author Nick Ciarelli and Apple reached a ‘confidential settlement’ in late 2007 which included the dismantling of the ThinkSecret website.

Apple and Think Secret have settled their lawsuit, reaching an agreement that results in a positive solution for both sides. As part of the confidential settlement, no sources were revealed and Think Secret will no longer be published. Nick Ciarelli, Think Secret’s publisher, said “I’m pleased to have reached this amicable settlement, and will now be able to move forward with my college studies and broader journalistic pursuits.”

Sounds like they paid him off to me*.

*Pure speculation. Please don’t come after me, Apple.

Photo Credits go to aforementioned blog authors, Wikipedia and Anton Hazewinkel

For those of you not on Twitter, you can skip this post and ignore us Tweeps.
(OR better yet, sign up and join us! Be sure to follow T2Z!)

(ON second thought, feel free to play along in the comments if you’d like to join us!)

Ever since I gave up my Monday Motivation tradition, I have sadly found that my inbox is still bursting at the seams. My new assistant Amber has been a tremendous help - but there are emails still unanswered that are over a month old at this point. This isn’t something I can hand off to someone else.

So drastic times call for drastic measures.

I call today, Wednesday, a Tweet 2 Zero Day

Tweet 2 Zero

If you have an inbox bursting at the seams, join me! Let’s use Twitter together to get our inbox email count down to ZERO.

It’s EASY >> For every 25 emails you get out of your inbox, either by deleting, archiving, or responding to them, post an update to Twitter that shares your progress.

And if you like using hashtags, add #T2Z to your tweets so that we can support each other and track our progress.

I have 717 emails as of this writing - Amber & I will track everyone’s tweets to see just how many emails we can extinguish together in one 24 hour period.

So kick of Tweet 2 Zero day with a tweet! How many emails are you starting with? Then come back to Twitter later and keep us posted on your progress!

Be sure to follow T2Z on Twitter if you want to see who else is participating and get regular totals of the emails banished from renting our headspace any longer!