From Mexico, I wish you all the best in the New Year!

Thanks to modern technology I am able to work far from home. Back in Washington D.C. it is about 40 degrees during the day. Here in Mexico it is a very pleasant 80 degrees with not a cloud in site.

I’ve spent the morning helping a few of my new customers and speaking with half a dozen folks who have expressed an interest in working with me in my home business. Later today I plan to go out and enjoy the day before making plans to celebrate the New Year in my favorite “home away from home.”

If you’ve ever thought you’d like to jump into a business that would allow you to be your own boss and to work from where ever you like, consider shooting me an email. In the meantime, les deseo todo lo mejor en 2009!!!

Adios!

Lisa Jo

This is the time of year to be thinking of New Year’s resolutions in both our personal and our professional lives. According to polls, most of our goals will revolve around losing weight, getting fit, spending more time with family, and getting better organized. No surprises there!

On the professional side of the equation, now is the time to be taking stock of what has worked over the past year in our home business. It is also time to take stock of what areas need improvement. In that regard, much emphasis — perhaps too much — is typically placed on mega wish lists of all the new things we plan to explore and implement in the upcoming year. But without proper attention to the science behind goal setting (more on that later), much of the effort will be for naught. Change will not come about without a clear plan to make it happen because as we all know, the devil is in the details.

My suggestion for today is to make a list of last year’s successes.

What is working well for your business? Figure it out, put it in writing, and resolve to build upon your areas of strength in the New Year. If you wish to see massive results, you need a massive effort and this is best accomplished from a position of strength — not weakness. Consider this idea when making your home business resolutions.

For me professionally, in this last year, my biggest area of strength have been twofold:

1. Our standing business presentations in the community continue to draw very talented people interested in our message. The economy is bad and that simple fact is driving folks to explore other options.

2. I speak Spanish and love working in my second language. Recently, I’ve made a concerted effort to reach out to the Hispanic Community and the results have been promising.

In the New Year I am resolving to double the attendance at our community business presentations and to set up a parallel presentation schedule in Spanish.

Happy New Year and I wish you and your home business continued success in 2009!

Meaningful way to recycle holiday cards!

This is the time of year when most people actually enjoy getting their mail! Family and friends keep in touch by sending out holiday cards full of well wishes and pictures of their children. Even local businesses and vendors send out cheerful cards. However, come January 2nd most of the cards will end up in either the trash or the paper recycling bin.

Did you know it is possible to give holiday cards a second life?

There is a well-known charity out there that will re-use the decorative part of the cards, turning them into stunning holiday cards available for purchase. The proceeds then support the charity! I love this idea because who wants to think of beautiful images of Christmas trees or Hanukkah candles being turned into paper towels or toilet paper when they could instead bring delight to yet another family — and money to a worthwhile cause?

St. Jude’s Recycled Card Program

As most people know, this well-respected charity helps children with cancer.

St. Jude’s Ranch for Children is accepting used, all-occasion greeting cards from November 15, 2008 thru February 28, 2009. You can mail your donations to:

St. Jude’s Ranch for Children
Card Recycling Program
100 St. Jude’s Street
Boulder City, NV 89005

Over thirty years ago, wishing to show donors appreciation for making St. Jude’s Ranch for Children possible, the idea was conceived for turning the previous year’s Christmas cards into “new” cards for the coming season. The recipients were so delighted with their unique “thank you,” they requested the children sell them the special cards. And so, the
St. Jude’s Ranch Recycled Card Program was born.

Since then, the Program expanded to include just about any all-occasion greeting card that starts with a used greeting card front.

What I love is that the children participate in making the new recycled cards by removing the front and attaching a new back made with recycled paper. The new card is a beautiful, “green” card made by the children and volunteers. The benefits are two-fold: customers receive “green” holiday cards for use and the children receive payment for their work and learn the benefits and importance of “going green”.

So, as the holiday cards keep rolling in, please enjoy them all and then consider giving them a second life by sending mailing them to St. Jude’s Ranch.

Green Holiday Suggestions

Believe it or not, “less” really can be “more” this time of year. With the economic slump finally recognized as a recession, more and more families are feeling stressed over spending too much on holiday gifts and parties. With a little bit of creativity, we can all consider beautiful gifts from the heart rather than the pocketbook.

How about making your own gift certificates?

Consider giving your teenager a coupon good for a movie out with a friend followed by pizza at home with you providing the rides both ways. For a small amount of money, you’ll be giving your teenager something of value to them – an activity with friends. You’ll also be teaching them that time spent with people we care about is more important than buying them something they probably don’t really need or want anyway.

How about wrapping gifts in the comics?

It seems like a small thing but actually wrapping paper is very stressful on the environment. Often it can’t be recycled and commercial wrapping paper includes chemicals like polyethylene, polypropylene, and laminates! Yuck!!

I hope you will join me this holiday and wrap your gifts for friends and family in comics or how about handmade fabric bags, tied with reusable fabric ribbon?

How about sending inexpensive green gifts this year?

Save yourself time and gas by shopping from home from your computer. There are great places to go for eco-friendly, fair trade fashion And when entertaining, why not consider earth-friendly bambu products for the table?

I hope these tips are helpful and that you have a happy, safe and GREEN holiday season!

A positive attitude is contagious

It is simple human nature that we are naturally drawn to upbeat people. Happy people generate positive energy that helps buoy up friends and colleagues alike.

My networking tip for today is simple: Be positive!

If you walk into a networking event down in the dumps you will leave feeling even worse with the realization that you’ve wasted time and left a bad impression that will be difficult to undo. Times are challenging and everyone has reasons to feel down on occasion but here are some simple ideas for projecting positive energy:

1. Wear a nice outfit with an item that calls attention to your individual style — be it a colorful scarf or a bold piece of jewelry. (If you’re a guy, this might be a challenge)

2. Have a quick, interesting, and relevant story at the ready that will be of interest to anyone you meet. Business-specific blogs can be an excellent source of up-to-date information

3. Do whatever it takes to match names with faces as people loved to hear their name spoken and love to feel remembered. That is why business cards with pictures are so convenient – and effective.

4. Resist gossiping! When you hear negative spin about someone else, make it a challenge to spin the ball the other way by saying something positive about the person being criticized. The trick is to do so in a way that doesn’t appear judgmental of the gossipers.

5. Be ready with suggestions that you can pull out of your hat to help other people. For example, what books or articles have you read lately that would be helpful or interesting to other business people? Be ready to recommend whatever fiction you are reading as well – provided it is not Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic The Road.