The Friendship Stone

Jill Raff contacted me regarding the radio show, "Women Entrepreneurs - The Secrets of Success" which is how I was introduced to The Friendship Stone. I was intriqued by the story behind this product and I wanted to share this with you. It's a beautiful idea and I think that it would make a fantastic gift for the holidays and for any special occasion.


The Friendship Stone began on a visit to South Africa when a chance encounter led Cathy Raff, the founder of My Stone Company to notice the variegated Tiger’s Eye. What started with giving a few stones to a couple of friends soon grew into The Friendship Stone – a meaningful give-back gift of love, appreciation and gratitude.

The Friendship Stone is meant to serve as an important reminder of the bond of friendship. It is created using a Tiger’s Eye, semi-precious gemstone which displays an effect of a thin band of light, called Chatoyancy, that changes position as the stone is turned back and forth.

When Cathy saw this stone, it soon developed into a metaphor for living positively and she wanted to share its message with as many people as possible. The ability of the stone to change with the rays of light is an important notion for how one chooses to view life and friendship. Just like the stone’s appearance changes, the Friendship Stone symbolizes the power of choice, of positive thinking and of one’s own ability to alter his/her direction. Despite the circumstances, Cathy realized especially through her own trials and tribulations, how one should always look for the silver-lining in each situation.



Furthermore, The Friendship Stone’s structure is as beautiful, distinctive and irreplaceable as the people that comprise one’s life. Like the stone, each individual is unique and reflects Mother Earth’s magnificence. When you give The Friendship Stone as a gift, you are affirming your belief, confidence and support in the other person. The stone, small-enough to be permanently carried around, serves as a constant reminder of the importance of each individual in one’s life. By giving the Friendship Stone, and now one-of-a-kind Friendship Stone Jewelry, one provides a keepsake, an everlasting sign that no matter where the place or location, there will always be an enduring connection between those two particular individuals – even when in times when they are apart. The Friendship Stone reminds us that giving of our friendship is what truly matters in life. It is the people in our life that counts most.

The Friendship Stone makes a unique friendship gift which also gives back. 10% of all profits from The Friendship Stone product range go back to help the communities in Western South Africa from where the stones originate.
www.thefriendshipstone.com

Today on Women Entrepreneurs -The Secrets of Success

Kristin Moore of Single Tease will be the guest. Kristin, who left her corporate job as a Creative Director of a design firm in the Washington, DC area, is the co-owner of a company for singles called SingleTease. Their company creates products that break the ice between singles. Starting a conversation with an adorable stranger isn’t easy. Where do you begin? Dating experts agree that breaking the ice is easier with a conversation starter: a bestseller, baseball cap or a playful dog—anything that gives them an easy way to start chatting with you. What about wearing a clever t-shirt, or dressing your pup in a fun t-shirt to get their attention and invite conversation?

Their first product is a line of great fitting tshirts with clever messages which let a guy know a woman is available and approachable. Some samples messages are "Just Ask Me (out)" and "Boyscouting (are you prepared?)" They recently launched two more products, SingleTees® for men, and SinglePup® doggie tees which are available for wholesale only.

www.singletease.com

Open to Receive your Desires - 7 Steps to Clear Energy Blocks Teleclass

Join Elena Camp for her informative and motivational teleclass on Thursday, December 18th at 8:00 pm.

Have you mastered the asking component of the Law of Attraction and are you clear and focused on what you want?
But if what you desired has not manifested in your life, there may be an energy block preventing manifestation. This course will cover 7 important areas in your life that if blocked will delay or prevent full manifestation. Clear your energy and allow and receive quickly and easily all that you have asked for !!

Today on Women Entrepreneurs -The Secrets of Success

Margie Basaraba of YTB Travel will be the guest today at 12:00 noon EST.
www.blogtalkradio.com/CoachDeb

Which Comes First, Your Book or Your Business?

By Sophfronia Scott

It's sort of like that chicken or the egg question: which do you work on first, your book or your business? Should you write a book first and then develop a business when you start attracting attention? Or should you build your business up first and then write a book as the biggest, tastiest piece of your marketing pie? It's the kind of pondering that can put a well-meaning entrepreneur into the overwhelm zone--and neither the book nor the business move forward! Here's the problem with this kind of thinking: it assumes that the book is a separate project from your business, when really the two can be developed together. Here's how you can easily fit a book into your business strategy.

What Will Be Your Focus?

Let's look at your business going forward in the next 6-12 months. Is there a particular area, subject or service you would like to introduce or highlight in a new way? Perhaps you've been coaching on business success and you want to start a coaching program around marketing to women or you sell a product that teaches how to write copy, but you want to start teaching it live as a bootcamp. What exactly is it you want to bring to your business and what kind of results do you want to see from the effort?

What Do You Want People to Do?

Now let's pretend someone on the street has just heard about your new offering. What would you want them to do next? Go to your website to learn more? Attend a free public seminar? Call or email you? Think of all the different "next steps" that could be possible for a person who comes across your information. Write out these steps as if they were on a map that leads the person right to you or, more specifically, into the top of your product funnel. These steps might be simple such as going to your website for a tool or a report. Or they could be a little more complicated, like having them fax in a request for seminar tickets. I like to have a sprinkling of both kinds--it can help you gauge the quality of your prospect.

Plan Your Book Accordingly and Launch It

Fortunately for you, you don't have to wait for someone on the street to tell someone else about your business and your new offering--you are writing a book. And all of those different ways you want people to come back to you, to make contact? They will be placed in the book as your calls to action. Your book will also highlight your knowledge and expertise with the subject you've chosen, be it marketing to women or how to hire the best people. It would also mention all the new business offerings in this area. Once you have written and launched the book, you can promote the book. And here's the magic of this: it looks like you're promoting this one book, but you're really selling all that other stuff you have going on that's connected to the book: your paid newsletter, your workshops, your coaching programs, your contests, your products. How are you doing that? It's all in the book!

The great thing about this book-and-business strategy is that it can be repeated again and with different subject matter and different offerings. Successful entrepreneurs such as Jack Canfield, Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump have been doing this for ages. Isn't it time for you to get the word out--and make a profit as well?

© 2008 Sophfronia Scott

Sophfronia Scott is Executive Editor of the Done For You Writing & Publishing Company. Learn what a difference being a published author can make for your business. Get your FREE audio CD, "How to Succeed in Business By Becoming a Bestselling Author" and your FREE online writing and book publishing tips at www.DoneForYouWriting.com.

What Every Blogger Should Know About Trademark Law Before and While Blogging

by Latoicha Givens, Phillips Givens, LLC

Hello Friends!

I felt the need to write this article because one, I am a blogger. Also check me out at www.luxetips.com. And two, I have had discussions with so many bloggers about whether they owned a trademark and how to protect the good name and reputation they have built through blogging.

I will give you an example of some of the pitfalls bloggers have encountered.

Example 1: You register a blog with blogger and your blog name is Widgets.blogspot.com. You build up a reputation and readership and you decide you want to own your own domain name.

You contact a hosting company and try to register Widgets.com, but low and behold, someone else already owns the domain name. You contact the owner of the domain name and they will gladly let you have it.....for the low low price of $10,000.00! Yikes.

Example 2: You go ahead and register your domain name, Wethepeople.com. Hey you own it! But then some company comes along and registers Wearethepeople.com. You both are in same business and when you do a google search, their name comes up first. You have built a brand name, reputation, and following with Wethepeople.com. They are diverting traffic from your blog and causing confusion. What can you do?

So fellow blogger and potential bloggers follow these simple rules to ensure your blog, your brand and trademark, is protected and avoid becoming prey to infringers and cybersquatters.

1. A blog name is a trademark. One misconception many bloggers have is that they do not think they own a trademark because they are not organized as a company. If you a blogger and publish daily, weekly, or monthly articles on your blog, you are in the business of publishing. Also if you receive advertising revenue, or in-kind gifts, products, etc to review on your blog, you are actively engage in commerce - the ability to conduct business transactions.

A trademark is defined as words, symbols, phrases or designs which the public associates with a single source of goods or services. By law you establish trademark rights by actual use of the mark in commerce or filing an intent to use the mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, USPTO.

2. Do a preliminary search for your blog name. Make sure the blog name you choose is not identical or too similar to a brand name, company, or other blog. You can accomplish this by doing a Google Search. Now Google may not capture every identicial or similar name, (only a comprehensive trademark search will do this) but those that are registered with government agencies and are on the web will be found. The last thing you want to receive is a cease and desist letter from me, a trademark lawyer, stating shut down your blog or else!

3. Register your domain name. A MUST MUST MUST! You must own your blog's name. Before starting a blog, you have to own your name. I can't repeat it enough. Now there are tons of services like blogger, typepad, and wordpress that will let you create a blog name through their service but this DOES NOT mean you own the domain name.

You can choose a domain registrar like VL Hosting to register your name for a nominal fee. Sometimes fees are as low as $10.00 per year. Why do this? Because there are mean lean sharks out in the blogosphere called cybersquatters. They literally surf the net for brand names and company names that do not have registered domain names and register them so they can hold them (cybersquat them) until you come crying and begging for them to release it. They will but for an astronomical fee.

4. Register your blog's name, phrases, and design as a trademark. It is just good practice and planning to register your blog as a trademark. You never know how successful you and your blog may be. Without registering your trademark, you do own a lawful common law trademark right (a trademark right without federal or state trademark registration). However to bring a trademark infringement action against an infringer you must register the trademark with the state where you are located or the USPTO.

Also registering your blog as a trademark is good evidence that you have a legitimate interest in your blog's domain name, if you have to file a domain name dispute against someone who purposely registers a domain name similar to yours in order to steal your traffic. I do understand that obtaining federal trademark registration can be expensive, but it is relatively inexpensive to register with your state. Depending on the state where you are located, fees can be as low as $15.00. But it is smart to get some legal advice. A poorly drafted trademark application will be rejected.

If you are a blogger already engaged in publishing your blog and have not completed any of these steps, I would recommend that you complete these steps as soon as possible! Believe me accomplishing these simple tasks will save you headaches and potentially money.

I hope this article was helpful. If you would like further information, please contact me at lgivens@phillipsgivenslaw.com. Please stay tuned for my next topic: How to file and win a domain name dispute.

Reprinted from phillipsgivenslaw.blogspot.com

Latoicha Givens is the founder and a member of the firm Phillips Givens, LLC. Ms. Givens practice includes representation of start-ups, small, and mid-sized businesses in intellectual property matters, specifically, trademarks, copyrights, and licensing issues.

Give Your Elevator Speech a Lift!

By Lorraine Howell, Media Skills Training

You only have one chance to make a good first impression. This is especially true in today’s tumultuous business climate.

When someone asks the introductory “What do you do?” keep in mind that 15-20 seconds -- or the length of an elevator trip – is all you have to start a meaningful conversation.

To get to the essence of a great elevator speech, answer these questions:

Who is your target audience?

Is there an ideal industry, business type, group, socio-economic status, location, hobby, or other common characteristic that describes your best customers? If your target audience is a business, what is the company’s profile? Where is the business in its growth cycle? What processes are involved in the business?

When you identify your ideal customer and target your message accordingly, listeners will see the value and be eager to talk about it. And, if the people you meet are not a fit for your skills and services, a memorable elevator speech can encourage quality referrals.

What do they care about?

Most business owners care about making a profit and outperforming their competition. Yet within each business there are unique concerns and problems. Do they have supply chain issues? What’s their employee retention history? Is their industry expanding or contracting? What issues keep the business owners up at night?

The more you understand the situation from their perspective, the more likely you will be to hit a nerve with your elevator speech. Ask your best customers what is important to them and listen carefully. Within their comments are the jewels that can help you stand out.

What results/benefits do you provide?

Don’t launch into a long explanation about how you do what you do. This confuses the process with the results. Rather, define what problems you solve for your customers. Here are two examples to help frame your storytelling:

•“I help level the playing field for vendors who are negotiating contracts with large multi-national corporations.”

•“I help business and community leaders prepare for the spotlight through public speaking coaching and media interview preparation.

What spins your jets about what you do?

People like to work with professionals who demonstrate passion and enthusiasm for their work, so share zest and energy when you deliver your elevator speech. Make it clear that you enjoy your work and the results you bring about for customers.

Put the pieces together…

As the answers to these questions unfold, your elevator speech will take shape. Use the language of your target audience to state your value and benefits. Shortcut the process and get right to the results in an enthusiastic and compelling way.

With practice, your elevator speech will flow naturally, become part of your personal brand, and help you make the most of every opportunity to make a good first impression.

Lorraine Howell, Author, Give Your Elevator Speech a Lift!
Media Skills Training
www.mediaskillstraining.com