Monday, December 31, 2007

21 Posts - The Best of Virtual Woman's Day 2007!

Thought I'd end the year with a recap of our best posts of 2007.

So here goes:

February 28, 2007 (our very first post) Virtual Woman’s Day Hits the Net!

March 12th – Women’s Firsts and WE Magazine for Women

April 6th – Promote Your Expertise on the Women in Business Podcast Directory

May 25th – Nancy Michaels – Establish Yourself as an Expert

June 6th – 17 Tips to Get the Most out of RYZE Social Networking

June 20th – Of Contests, Blogs and the Media

July 17th – Back to School Grants & Scholarships for Women

July 26th – Tagging Women Who Blog

August 1st – Promoting Your New Book, 13 Great Ideas

August 2nd – More Great Book Promotion Ideas

August 8th – Being a Guest on OPP – Other People’s Podcasts to Promote Your Book

August 17th – And the Female Blogger List Grows

September 10th - Blogging for Business Resources and Even More Great Women Bloggers

October 4th – Lucky 13 Women Bloggers Share it all

November 1st – Show Her the Money

November 2nd – Our Woman Bloggers List Grows

November 16th – 111 Woman Bloggers Reads Like a List of Who’s Who

November 29th – 1000 Great Giveaways Could be Yours

December 5th – Join us Online for Growing an Million Dollar Business

December 6th – Link Love, an Epidemic, Not Yet


Thank you for reading Virtual Woman's Day and making it a popular choice for women online.
May 2008 be your best year yet!

Heidi Richards Mooney, Founder & CEO - The WECAI Network

Be sure to visit our other blogs in the New Year:

Women's Media Summit

AND

WE Magazine for Women

Saturday, December 29, 2007

New Year's Resolutions in Business

glitter graphics

Happy New Year Glitter Graphics



Do you make resolutions in your business? The bottom-line, business climate changing kind of resolutions that will move you forward to the success you desire and deserve?

Or do you go about the New Year much as you have in the past. Doing the same things you did the year before, and the year before that? That's great if what you are doing is working and you are achieving your highest aspirations.

What do you really want to accomplish in the next year? How much more do you want to earn? Do you want to hand your business over to a successor? Do you have plans to sell your business? In any case, a strong plan must be in place to accomplish those goals.

Are you having trouble getting motivated? Don't know where to start? Failed at resolutions in the past or simply don't know how to make and stick to them?

Here are some excellent articles on the subject of New Year Business Resolutions that can take you from where you are to where you want to be:

Check out

"A New Year, A New You: Ten Marketing Resolutions that Will Improve Your Image and Your Bottom Line" by Heidi Richards (me)

Top 10 New Year's Resolutions for Business Success by Susan Ward

Top 10 New Year's Resolutions You Can Make for Your Business by Jan B. King

Making New Years Business Resolutions That “Stick” by Skip Reardon

and

101 New Years Business Resolutions by Mike Smith

There is lots of excellent advice and great ideas on how and where to start.

Feel free to post your own New Year's Business Resolutions here!

Happy New Year... and Happy planning!

Heidi

Monday, December 24, 2007

Happy Holidays to all....

To everyone a Very Merry Christmas! May it be all you wish for and more!


Glitterfy.com - Glitter Graphics


From our house to yours,

Heidi & Family

Monday, December 17, 2007

Who Are YOU?


Today on the 24 Blogging Days 'til Christmas, Dina shared her tip about posing a question on our blog. So I thought I’d like to ask you to share a little bit about you - I really want to know who the readers of Virtual Woman’s Day are.

And in return I am going to tell you a little bit about me! So here goes....

In addition to being the mother to 3 beautiful adult daughters Jennifer, Alexis (deceased) and Suzannah. I have 2 gorgeous grandchildren who share the same trait as their father (and I have) - having red hair, that is. Their father, btw, is more than a son-in-law - he is more like a son, than an inlaw.


I am married to my soul mate although we are newlyweds we have been together for 16 years. I knew him even before we crossed paths (spiritually).


I love to read, write, ride my Honda Rebel (I am a bit of a Rebel myself) travel to unusual places (My husband and I went to Egypt shortly after 9-11 for a conference/cruise) and I have been to Kuwait, Qatar and a few other places in the middle East (as a special guest of the US Military).

One of my favorite things to do is to surf the web for interesting people and cutting edge information.
About my Businesses:
President and Chief Goddess of a Thriving Florist (celebrating 26+ years in business) – http://www.edenflorist.com/


Founder & Chief Visionary of the Women’s eCommerce Association, International http://www.wecai.org/ – a network of women, organizations, resources to help women do MORE business on and off the WEB.


Publisher and editor-and-chief for WE Magazine for Women – The Digital Magazine for the Total Woman – http://www.wemagazineforwomen.com/.


Professional Speaker & Published Author specializing in "Helping Small Businesses Grow" and my niche is women business owners.


My personal mission in life is to help other women become more successful in all aspects of their lives.


Looking forward to hearing from you and reading "your story."


Heidi Richards Mooney

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Just How Popular Are You?


I'm talking blogs, of course!


The most popular places in the blogosphere, according to Technorati are those with the most links!


And you thought it was the ones with the most readers! Well, actually, they are the same thing. Because in order to get the "blogferrals" (aka link love), someone's gotta first read your blog and then tell others about it.


Just why would you want "blogferrals?"


Well, if you offer products or services for sale or have affiliate links that generate income, then the more eyeballs that view your blog, the more traffic you generate, the more traffic you generate, the greater your chances of selling something... and so on.


Here are some common blog linking tactics and what they mean:


Trackbacks - one of three types of Linkbacks, methods for Web authors to request notification when somebody links to one of their documents. This enables authors to keep track of who is linking to, or referring to their articles. Some weblog software programs, such as Wordpress, Movable Type and Community Server, support automatic pingbacks where all the links in a published article can be pinged when the article is published. The term is used colloquially for any kind of Linkback (source: Wikipedia)


Comments - are replies or feedback that a reader can leave in response to an entry on your blog.


Social book marks - is tagging websites to save for later viewing to send to a friend. It is like taking the bookmarks in your web browser and sending them out to the web. Social book marks are also a great way too look at what other people have found interesting enough to tag.


Tagging - is organizing content organically and without a pre-determined structure.


Blogrolls - a listing of websites that often appear as links on weblogs. This list of links is used to relate the site owner's interest in or affiliation with other bloggers.


Guest Blogging - "When you guest blog, your blog post is a resume you are putting out to the world that publicly states who you are, what you can do, what you know, why you are good at what you do, and why should people come to visit you for more. " (Source: BlogHerald.com). Check out this list of 11 Blogs that Accept Guest Bloggers.


Blog, RSS directories - is an index directory of weblogs as submitted by their authors. Check out the list of 100 Blog Directories to Submit Your Blog publishes by WE Magazine


For more great ideas on increasing your "blogferrals" read the article 101 Link Building Tips to Market Your Website.


To see who made the list of the most popular places on the blogosphere check out this article by Fast Company - The Bigs of the Blogs.


Blog on!


Heidi

Monday, December 10, 2007

Colors and the Causes They Represent





I have been unable to access email on my Outlook today so was going through some notes I have saved to use on my blogs and here's something interesting I found:

It's a list of colors and the causes that have adopted them:

Pink -Breast cancer Awareness

White – holocaust remembrance, peace

Yellow – support our troops

Black – Pow/mia

Red – HIV/Aids – American Heart Association

Burgandy – hospice care

Green – environmental protection

Lavender – caregiver appreciation

Red white, and blue – national support

Rainbow – gay pride

Light blue – pro-choice
And it got me thinking about colors and marketing. What the colors mean is just as important as what they represent.
Color Wheel Pro has an excellent explanation of the meaning of colors.

There are also numerous studies about color and the affects they have on us. Check out Color Matters for some very interesting insights about men, women and colors.
And if you want more reading, check out my article Think Pink! Or Red, or Blue....

Happy Coloring!

Heidi


Thursday, December 6, 2007

Link love - an Epidemic - Not Yet!

Today I received another great tip from Dina at Wordfeeder during Day 6 of 24 Days of Blogging Fun and decided to visit another blogger listed on her site. So I visited Bonita Shrader's "Superwoman Does Not Live Here!" Blog and left a comment.

That's what I love about blogging. All the great people I meet and the wonderful conversations going on. And I do my best to post a comment or thought on at least one new blog a day. Why? It's a great way increase your own visibility on the net, and you might just meet some people who will become live-long friends in the process.

So my tip today is to participate in some sort of "blog event" such as a blog carnival and get to know some new bloggers. Leave a comment on at least one new blog when you do. Let's start an epidemic by spreading some link love!

Happy blogging,

Heidi

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Join us online for “Growing a Million Dollar Business

Upcoming Events for Friday, December 7th Theme, “Growing a Million Dollar Business” - FREE to the first 99 people who sign up!

Part 1

1st Fridayz interview with Tracy Repchuk of takes place at 10 AM (PST), 11 AM (MST), 12 Noon (CST), 1 pm (EST)1pm Eastern time.

“Join Heidi and the members of the Women’s eCommerce Association Friday, December 7th at 1pm (Eastern Time) for an interview with Tracy Repchuk, Author of 31 Days to Millionaire Marketing Miracles.” In this session you will learn how she earned the name "2007 New Internet Marketing Success of the Year” as she shares her “secrets” to success. Tracy will also talk about her show busyworkingwomen on blog talk radio and her recent trip to Malaysia and in the UK for the World Internet Summit.”

Tracy Repchuk is a Canadian bestselling author of “31 Days to Millionaire Marketing Miracles” a book that has taken her to Internet Marketing stardom after a 22 year history as an entrepreneur in the software and eCommerce arena. Tracy started her first company directly after college at the age of 19 in 1985, and has seen every computer and internet trend first hand. During her successful journey as the president of 4 companies, once she started having children (she has 3 aged 12, 11 and 10) she moved her office home and became an advocate for being a work from home mom raising her kids – a lifestyle that has been a dream come true.

Tracy has been nominated for awards such as Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year, and Chamber of Commerce Business woman of the year, and has received international acclaim for her eCommerce software products.

Two ways to participate:
If you are attending via the teleconference bridge line, here is the information you need:
Conference Dial-in Number: (641) 715-3840 - Participant Access Code: 361467#

If you are attending via the web conference room, go here: http://www.wecai.org/eWednesdayChat.exe

NOTE: Our regular 36+ hour 1st Fridayz events will resume in January. Be sure to go to www.1stFridayz.com to learn more and sign up for our 2008 events.

Part 2
We have partnered with Sheri McConnell of National Assn. of Women Writers and My Millionaire Friends to bring you a great teleseminar - The ACTION Method-How To Build a Million Dollar Business In Less Than 5 Years From Your Home

Date: December 7th at Noon (PST), 1 pm (MST), 2 pm (CST), 3 pm (EST)

Attendees will learn:

-The many benefits of creating a wealth plan
-How to leverage your time, money, and expertise using 1 or more of 6 millionaire business models
-The core elements to consider when creating your own virtual millionaire team
-The key millionaire systems you must have in place
-Plus Much More!

Note: This class also includes a 3 page handout with a checklist and a diagram.

Register here: http://my-millionaire-friends.com/free-stuff

Hope to see you there!

Heidi

Monday, December 3, 2007

Women Bloggers add to Day 3 of 24 Days of Blogging







Time to add to my list of great women bloggers. This week I found 13 Very Diverse Women Bloggers to share with you!

They are:

DC Healthy Chocolate With Dr. Daisy http://www.dchealthychocolate.blogspot.com/

News on Women by Alice Kraus, et al http://www.newsonwomen.com/

Family Squad with Maria http://familysquad.blogspot.com/

VSpot with Via at http://vspot.co.uk/

Freedom Blogging with Jan Norman http://jan.freedomblogging.com/

Smooth Sailing Success with Pat Morgan http://smoothsailingsuccess.blogspot.com/

All for Women with Leigh http://www.allforwomen.com.au/

The Tall Poppy with Anne http://thetallpoppy.blogspot.com/

Conscious Destiny with Michelle Van http://consciousdestiny.com/

Dorothea Carney Marketing Tips http://dorotheacarney.com/

Anya Achtenberg - http://anyaachtenberg.com/

design*sponge with Grace Bonney http://www.designspongeonline.com/

Kinetic Ideas with Wendy Maynard - http://wendy.kinesisinc.com/
Be sure to stop by their blogs and if the spirit moves you, leave a trail.... (comment, that is).

Happy blogging!

Heidi

Sunday, December 2, 2007

24 Blogging Days 'til Christmas... and more!


My good friend Dina Giolitto of Wordfeeder.com has a great idea. It is called the 24 Blogging Days 'til Christmas and she has invited bloggers to play along. By signing up to participate in the 24 Blogging Days event you will get to meet new bloggers when you visit The Holiday Bloggers Blogroll. as well as receive valuable copywriting tips from the Copywriting Queen herself!

Here's what Dina wrote:

Follow along with Wordfeeder.com this holiday season and get instant copywriting tips for bloggers... on the fly!

Having trouble mustering up enthusiasm for your blog readers? Each day on Blogfeeder, we'll cover a new source of creative inspiration for busy bloggers like you. We'll also "beam the spotlight" on our group of merry bloggers. Will you shine among the blog stars this holiday season?

So hurry on over to Dina's blog today and sign up.... the link (and the guidelines) can be found at:


And while you are there you can read Tip 1: Recycling Email Content and Tip 2: Categories Add Pizzazz.

I look forward to seeing your blog listed so I can comment on it too!
Have a great day,

Heidi

Thursday, November 29, 2007

1000 Great Giveaways Could be Yours!


Today I have been busy working on the 1000 Great Giveaways for the WE Magazine for Women Blog and I am happy to report that the pages have gone live! The purpose of 1000 GREAT Giveaways is to Market 1000 FREE Offers on the WEB and share them with readers of WE Magazine for Women.


And I NEED YOUR HELP!


We are working on a list of resources that are available for FREE to our readers and I am looking for CONTENT!

If you have valuable resources you would like to add to our list, let me know! If you have audio programs, ecourses, ebooks, consulting, coaching and mentoring, special reports or whitepapers, training programs and videos to share with the world, you can send them to our editorial team to review for possible inclusion.I
n addition, you can view the pages containing the links to our current directory of FREE offers and download those of interest to you.

To see what we currently have to offer and to review our submission guidelines, visit 1000 Great Giveaways at http://www.1000greatgiveaways.com/ Today!

Feel free to share this message to women and men you know might be of interest to them.

Thanks for your help! Looking forward to hearing from you.


Heidi

Monday, November 26, 2007

Cyber Monday... Are You Buying or Selling?


Do you know what today is? It’s Cyber Monday!

According to Wikipedia “The term Cyber Monday refers to the Monday immediately following Black Friday, the ceremonial kick-off of the holiday online shopping season in the United States between Thanksgiving Day and Christmas. Whereas Black Friday is associated with traditional brick-and-mortar stores, "Cyber Monday" symbolizes a busy day for online retailers. The premise was that consumers would return to their offices after the Black Friday weekend, making purchases online that they were not able to make in stores. The idea has not survived the test of time (see below), however, Cyber Monday has evolved into a significant marketing event, sponsored by the National Retail Federation's Shop.org division, in which online retailers offer low prices and promotions.”

And according to KansasCity.com, “The Internet will influence 30 percent of holiday sales this year, up from 29 percent last year, and men are more likely to shop from work than women, according to Shop.org. Adults 18-24 are more likely to shop online from work than any other age group, at 73 percent.”
Many large retailers around the world are offering discounts for those who shop online. Home Shopping Network for instance, is offering a 15% discount to their already heavily discounted prices; Kmart, Target and Staples have specific product offerings you can only get online on Cyber Monday.

Want to save BIG? Check out AllDiscountCouponcodes.com for online coupons for some great discounts. .

WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESSES ONLINE? Feel free to post your online promotions in the comments section. Let’s see how you are taking advantage of CYBER MONDAY.

And if you would like to save money while you support a worthy cause, visit http://www.cybermonday.com// . All Shop.org proceeds from CyberMonday.com sales will be donated to the Ray M. Greenly Scholarship Fund, which provides scholarships for students interested in an eCommerce career.

Happy Cyber Monday... and more!






Heidi

Friday, November 16, 2007

111 Women Bloggers - List Reads Like a Who's Who!

“Success is almost totally dependent upon drive and persistence. The extra energy required to make another effort or try another approach is the secret of winning.” Denis Waitley


If you have been following this blog, you know that once a week we add women to our list of bloggers. And after the last post, our list was up to 85 outstanding women! Weare adding 26 more women bloggers to our list today. Thank makes it 111 as of today. Whoo hooo!

This list reads like a who's who among women bloggers. And in case you were wondering, many of these women will also be listed in the WECAI WIKI "Who's Who Among Women in eCommerce." So stay Tuned!

Introducing this week's list of women bloggers we have been following . . .

1. Startup Spark with Shannon Cherry - http://www.startupspark.com/

2. Tracy Repchuk Internet Marketing http://www.tracyrepchuk.com/

3. SuperViva with Susie – http://www.superviva.com/

4.ALLIED by Jeneane Sessum http://allied.blogspot.com/

5. Indie Business Blog with Donna Johnson - http://www.indiebusinessblog.com/indie_business/

6. Women’s Leadership Success with Sabrina Braham http://www.womensleadershipsuccess.com/

7. Evelyn David's Amazon Blog at http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/post/PLNKTI42DPRYLLFU

8. Invincibelle with Deepika Bajaj and Friends at http://www.invincibelle.com/post.php?page_id=99

9. Reality Business Coach with Krista Baker at http://www.realtybizcoach.com/

10. Search Marketing Gurus with Li Evans at http://www.searchmarketinggurus.com/

11. Me Ra Koh Photography with Me Ra http://www.merakohblog.com/

12. Laurel Papworth’s Online Communities at http://silkcharm.blogspot.com/

13. Smart Girls Know with Debbie Reber http://www.smartgirlsknow.com/

14. WAHM Business Opportunities blog with Angela Shupe and Dane Carlson. http://wahm.business-opportunities.biz/

15. Woman Honor Thyself with Angel http://www.womanhonorthyself.com/

16. Painter Girl with Carol Leonesio http://paintit.typepad.com/

17. DevChix by Nola Stowe, Jennifer Stander, Liz Cortel, and Desi McAdam http://www.devchix.com/

18. Susan Cline - http://www.susanbcline.com/blog%20%20

19. Rebecca Kidder at http://www.thebecca.net/

20. Tam Gray of Senior Women Web House - http://house.seniorwomen.com/

21. Angela Wills Internet Profit Planning http://internetprofitplanning.com/blog/

22. Alice Seba of Internet Marketing Sweetie Blog http://www.internetmarketingsweetie.com/blog/

23. Stacy Blackman Consulting http://blog.stacyblackman.com/

24. Cars Diva Blog blog.carsdiva.com. Demetra Markopoulos

25. Laurie Perry aka Crazy Aunt Purl http://www.crazyauntpurl.com/

26. Women on Business with Susan Gunelius http://womenonbusiness.com/

Wishing each of you continued success in your online adventures.

Warmest regards,

Heidi

Who's Who Among Women in eCommerce

"I've always known I was gifted, which is not the easiest thing in the world for a person to know, because you're not responsible for your gift, only for what you do with it "
Hazel Scott Trinidad-US pianist, singer, writer.


The WECAI Network recently announced their plans to unveil the 2007-2008 list of Who's Who Among Women in eCommerce and are actively seeking women to add to the list.

If you are a women who does business on the web (either via a website or a blog), you may join the WECAI WIKI and submit your name and URL for inclusion in this list.

If you would like to know more about the list visit http://www.wecaiwiki.com/. You can join the WECAI WIKI and add your favorite women in ecommerce to the list (including you).

The list will be unveiled in mid-December 2007.

The WECAI Network, also known as the Women's eCommerce Association, International is a 501c6 not for profit organization whose mission is "to help women do MORE business on and off the WEB. You can read more about the WECAI Network at http://www.wecai.org/.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Show Her the MONEY - Business Grants Part Two


Last week (Novmeber 1st) I posted about grants scholarships and loans for women and since then have discovered a few more.
So here is Part Two:



Golden Seeds is a New York-based angel group that “supports women entrepreneurs and investors to achieve business and financial success.” About one third of their investments are consumer-product companies, according to the WSJ.


The Stephen Bufton Memorial Education Fund (SBMEF) is the national scholarship fund of the American Business Women's Association. The fund is divided in half. One half is for outright scholarship grants; the other half is for interest free loans. It is open to Women who have completed at least two years of College (sophomore level). Membership in ABWA is not required to apply for this fund. For more information and to apply visit: http://www.abwa.org/tools/scholarships/SBMEFActionGuide.pdf


Creating Economic Opportunities for Women (C.E.O. Women) recently announced The Women Connected Venture Fund, C.E.O. Women's pioneering micro-equity grant initiative. C.E.O. Women is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating economic opportunities for low-income immigrant and refugee women through teaching English, communications and entrepreneurship skills, so they can establish successful livelihoods.


Soroptomist Clubs - (which boasts 45,000 members in the U.S.) offers scholarships on the basis of need or domestic violence or drug and alcohol abuse recovery. Local clubs handle all the scholarship applications.


Talbots Women's Scholarships can be found at: http://www.talbots.com/about/scholar/scholar.asp


Raise The Nation is a non-profit organization that helps women looking for a scholarship for single moms. They also have a loan repayment program for single mothers unable to repay their loans. There are requirements that need to be met: a record showing strong community service or volunteerism.


Women In Business Scholarships The scholarship award of US$5,000 given by Zonta International may be used for tuition, books or living expenses at any university, college or institution offering accredited business courses and degrees


Web of Benefit has grants too - check them out at: webofbenefit.org.


If you know of any grants for women that are not listed here, be sure and let me know.


Happy Hunting!


Heidi

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Creating Your Ta-Da List!


“I’d rather be small and shine, than big and cast a shadow.” Unknown




When it comes to success, many of us loose site of just how much have accomplished in a day, a week, a month, a year and even a lifetime. How good are you at celebrating your successes? Or do you tend to focus on your faults and failures more? A wise woman once said “We must learn from our mistakes. However don’t let them consume you or you will never achieve greatness.


Celebrate your successes no matter how small or trivial they may seem. After all, that is where the real joy in life comes from.”Here are some ways you can review and celebrate your successes.


As the year comes to a close, look back at the last several months and make a list of 20 accomplishments. This may be difficult for you to do as you review the past year. You may only come up with 5 or 10 things. That’s okay! Start there. Add to it as you think of more. Ask your family and friends what they think you have accomplished. You will be amazed at how quickly your list will grow.


The next thing to do is to start writing down all the things you accomplished each day. At the end of the day, list 2-5 (or more) things that you accomplished that day (no matter how trivial they may seem).


You can buy a simple journal and call it your Success Journal. Keep it near you at all times so that when you have reached one of your goals, a milestone or accomplished a simple task, it is handy for you to write in.


The Ta-da list is a great counterbalance for your to-do list and you will find that you have accomplished more than you thought you had. In addition, the ta-da list creates an emotional spark to your soul often giving you the encouragement you need to keep on keeping on with the goals you have set for yourself.


And finally, when you have 5-10 things on your list (or even one) REWARD YOURSELF! Go to the spa, get a manicure, take half a day off, go to a museum, buy a new pair of shoes J (my personal favorite) and remember to pat yourself on the back. I have one friend who every time she accomplished a major goal, she bought herself a trophy! The “AWARDS” guy loved her… She has so many now that she spends the money on supporting worthy causes. This makes her feel good and she spreads her success around.


To your Success!


Heidi

Friday, November 2, 2007

Our Women Bloggers List Grows!

"If you always do what interests you, at least one person is pleased." - Katherine Hepburn


As you know, we have been posting women bloggers for some time now. They come from all walks of life and professional backgrounds. That's what makes this so fun and interesting. In fact, throughout this journey I have met some wonderful women and made meaningful connections.

In fact, during a discussion on LinkedInPowerForum we were asked to list our blogs and I currently have 3 + (3 active and one I have not yet started posting to). Here's what one woman wrote:


"Heidi, I have to tell you - I just moved from running a large technology non-profit association while working at a consulting firm, to working for a start-up, and looking at your list of things makes me feel exhausted! I just checked out your 3 blogs and wow - lots of really great information on there.

I would also encourage you to be a speaker at the
BlogHER conference that began here in SF (and is traveling I believe) because you'd be a great asset to their speaker list."
Kristen Kuhns, Eravita, Inc. - STORY OF MY LIFE - www.storyofmylife.com

This is so exciting because I was just visited BlogHER and plan to be at the convention in July 2008. I invite you to check out Kristen's site, Story of My Life. What a great tool for all of us who wish to continue our legacy. Also, be sure to check out the BlogHER Conference in 2008. I hope to see you there!

As promised, here are a few more women bloggers (20 to be exact) I have found while surfing out and about - more great additions to our list on the Virtual Woman's Blog.

It gives me great pleasure to introduce the following:

Vanessa Bader - http://www.vanessabader.com/blog/

Donna DeClemente - http://www.donnadeclemente.typepad.com/

Frugal Upstate with Jenn - http://frugalupstate.blogspot.com/2007/10/compiling-frugal-work-wardrobe-guest.html

On Track and On Purpose with Ann Hession -
http://annhession.wordpress.com/2007/10/04/whats-your-plan/

Women’s History Today with Allison Frederick -
http://inspiration4women.blogspot.com/

The Measurement Standard with Katie Delahaye Paine -http://kdpaine.blogs.com/themeasurementstandard/2007/10/social-media-me.html

Click Newz with Lynn Terry -
http://www.clicknewz.com/1072/5-questions-for-online-business-women/

Lindsey Pollack -
http://lindseypollak.blogspot.com/2007/10/recommended-event-women-in-technology.html

Confident Writing with Joanna Young -
http://coachingwizardry.typepad.com/confident_writing/

Kt The Astrology with Kelly Fox - http://theastrologer.com/blog/

Truly Ace with Amanda Vlahakis - http://www.trulyace.com/blog/

Christy’s Coffee Break with Christy - http://christyscoffeebreak.blogspot.com/

In the Line of Wire with Jehan Ara - http://jehanara.wordpress.com/

Home with Heather -
http://homewithheather.com/

Mommy Revenue Blog with Rhonda White - http://mommyrevenue.com/

Magnolia PR with Adrienne Dorsey - http://magnoliapr.livejournal.com/

A successful woman by Monica S. Flores - http://www.asuccessfulwoman.com/success/

Writing USA with Michele Pariza - http://www.writingusa.com/blog/

Becoming a Woman of Purpose with Caroline Townes - http://spiritwomen.blogspot.com/

A Girl's Gotta Spa Blog with Shannon - http://gottaspa.blogspot.com/

Be sure and stop by their blogs and say Hi! Tell them "Heidi Sent You."

Heidi

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Show Her the Money!




"Is there really free money for my small business?" That is a question many women entrepreneurs ask themselves when starting their businesses and when they need capital to expand or revamp their growing companies.

Are you a female entrepreneur that is in the need of a small business loan or business grant? Are you in need of free money to begin a business but don’t know where to start? If these questions have crossed your mind of late don’t worry because there IS hope for your business. It comes in the form of grants, scholarships and loans. None of which is necessarily easy to obtain and yet, they are not impossible either. The biggest challenge is where to find them? And how to go about getting them once you do?

These grants, loans and scholarships come in many forms. From private investors, to banks to corporations, to associations, to banks and event governments. For instance, if you live in the United States, the government designates several million dollars in government grant money to assist small and personal businesses to flourish. And the sad news is that literally millions of dollars are left unclaimed (unapplied for) each and every year due to a lack of knowledge of these government grant programs.

By now you are probably asking yourself, “How can I receive more information about small business grants?” Finding and identifying sources for grants, loans and scholarships requires time, effort, and research.

Getting grants is not easy, it takes work – sometimes hours of research and then there’s the application process, which is daunting to most small business owners. And I don’t care what the advertisements say when they tell that you can get "free money" just by writing a letter. That is simply not true. Especially when it comes to grants. There is a lot of competition for funding. You have to be able to write a good proposal that clearly states your objectives and includes all the criteria the grant fund requests including what you are going to do with the money.

The main reason you might want a grant is because you don’t have pay back the money you receive. Once you determine if you qualify for a specific grant, you must be prepared to work for it or hire a grant writing professional to assist you.

If you want to learn to write a grant proposal yourself I suggest you check out your local Community Foundation or similar philanthropic training organization. These organizations are the first place I look to for workshops on grant writing. They are generally affordable and given by experts who have been doing the work for years.
If the do-it-yourself route is the route for you, here are a few resources help you in your grant and proposal writing:


Jump Up – The Place to Start a business - Want to calculate start-up costs, cash flow, and break-even? You will find calculators and links to templates and sample plans at: http://jumpup.intuit.com/tools/planning/tools_services

Check out this Interactive Business Planner (a free service that uses the Internet to assist entrepreneurs in preparing a 3-year business plan for their new or existing business. It’s located here: http://www.canadabusiness.ca/ibp/home_en.cfm

In addition to all the business grants and loans available to small business owners, there are several organizations, associations and corporations that provide scholarships to help you expand your mind and your business.

As with grants, loans require a significant application process generally beginning with a business plan, budget and other important documentation.

The challenge is where to start? If you are a member of one of these associations and organizations or know of some in your area you can contact them to find out what scholarships they have available to women. In my experience these types of local scholarships get very few applicants making your chances of getting one (provided you qualify) quite good.

In addition to the two listed below, be sure to check out the list of 100 Grants, Loans and Scholarships recently published in WE Magazine for Women blog at http://wemagazineforwomen.com/100-grants-loans-scholarships-for-women/
There is even a list of Angel Investors and a Directory of where to find more Angels.
Wishing you much success in your search for money,
Heidi

Heidi Richards, Founder & CEO – The WECAI Network™ - “Helping Women Do MORE Business on and off the WEB™”

Monday, October 29, 2007

Happy Birthday Internet - WECAI Network™ Membership 1/2 Price


Do you know what today is? Today is the Internet’s Birthday… and no matter if you’ve been doing business online for years or are just starting out this is a day to celebrate! In fact, in celebration of the Internet’s Birthday, we are making you a special offer. But you have to take advantage of it TODAY only because tomorrow the price goes back up. Here’s the deal: If you join the WECAI Network™ TODAY ONLY at the Charter Level (That’s $97), we will upgrade you automatically to Charter Elite (regular price $197).

You read that correctly! Join the WECAI Network™ today at the Charter level for only $97 and get all the benefits of the Charter Elite level for $97! What does $97 get you? In addition to all the things listed online, it gets you a membership in NAFE, access to the audio files of Women’s Media Summit, The Women’s Internet Marketing Summit AND the Women’s Writing and Publishing Summit… and that’s not all! You will also get a 1/4page ad in an upcoming issue of WE Magazine for women and the use of our hot conference room to host your own online events.


Total Value over $500! But you have to hurry because this offer expires at midnight tonight (October 29th). You must pay your membership dues in full for one year to take advantage of this special offer.


To take advantage of this offer, visit: http://www.wecai.org/application.asp right now.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Lucky 13 Women Bloggers Share it All!

"Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand-and melting like a snowflake..." Marie Beyon Ray


I would like to introduce you to my LUCKY 13 - adding to a long list of exceptional women bloggers.

They are:

Zen Kitchen with Dani Nordin - http://zenkitchen.blogspot.com/

Ask Patty with Jody DeVere - http://askpatty.typepad.com/

Grammar Phobia with Patricia T. O’Connor -http://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/

Diablogue with Jaculynn “JP” Peterson - http://diablogue.wordpress.com/

Continuum Wellness with Catherine Carter- http://continuumwellness.wordpress.com/

Innuity with Shivonne Byrne - http://innuity.typepad.com/

The Biz Chicks with Karla Williams - http://thebizchicks.typepad.com/

Best Beauty Tips 4 U with Angela Betts - http://www.bestbeautytips4u.com/blog

Zen of Adoption with Eileen Doll - http://zenofadoption.com/

Mommy Revenue with Rhonda White - http://mommyrevenue.com/http://momsdailydose.com/

Healthy Insites with Eleisia Whitney - http://healthyinsites.wordpress.com/

DeAnna Spencer's Blog - http://www.deannaspencer.com/blog

Thriving Business Blog with Yvonne Weld - http://www.yvonneweld.com/blog/?p=52

Be sure and stop by their blogs and check them out. And while you're at it, make a comment. Tell them Heidi sent you :)

Happy Sunday,

Heidi

Heidi Richards, Founder & CEO - The WECAI Network
Join us for the Women’s Media Summit, October 17, 18, 19 & 24th – The Small Business Public Relations & Media Marketing Event – http://www.womensmediasummit.com/

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Public Relations and Media Marketing eConference for Women October 17-19 & 24.

Announcing the Women's Media Summit - The Public Relations and Media Marketing eConference for Women taking place October 17-19 & 24.


The WECAI NETWORK™ is excited to present this four + day webinar/teleconference Event to "Help Women Do Business On and Off the Web." Here is your chance to attend the Virtual event (online via a web conference room or via a teleconference bridge line) that is both educational and inspirational. Bringing together experts in newspapers, magazines, television, radio and internet media, the Women's Media Summit offers business owners and professionals the opportunity to meet the people who can make a difference in their businesses and careers.
The media and public relations experts include:


- Raleigh Pinskey, Promote Yourself Now & The Raleigh Group
- Paul Hartunian, The Publicity Junkie
- Annie Jennings of Annie Jennings PR
- Ponn Sabra
- And a dozen other experts!


Session topics include:


- How to Get a Million Dollars in Free Publicity
- How Blogging Can Help You Get Media Attention
- How to be a Heat-seeking Media Magnet - 101 Ways to Promote Yourself!
- "How to create web-optimized media releases - Write for the spiders and the media will take notice!"
- "The Inside Scoop on Getting on Radio"
- Developing Your Media Platform Using a Storyboard
- PR Strategies to Become a Smash Hit Business Success
- The World of RADIO - Working with the media to Make it Work for Your Success
- ALL this and MORE!


When you register for the Women's Media Summit you will receive more than a dozen resources including "Get Media Savvy - The Ultimate eGuide to Promote Your Products, Services and Ideas to the World, as well as a workbook complete with interview questions, outlines, forms and other valuable information to help you capitalize on the information gleaned from this event... and more!

And you can participate in an exclusive mastermind group after the summit - this means more great speakers (from Entrepreneur Magazine, SBTV and BlentIt of YouTube fame among others) and inspiration to help you get your business noticed!

Check out our Schedule, Lineup of Speakers and Session Descriptions for more information. To learn more, visit:http://www.womensmediasummit.com/



While you are at it, get your complimentary copy of "YOUR Marketing Calendar - How to Make the Most of Holidays, Events and Celebrations to Promote Your Business" visit:
http://www.speakingwithspirit.com/yourmarketingcalendar.asp.


Hope to see you there!


Heidi


Heidi Richards, Founder & CEO - The WECAI Network™ Join us for the Women's Media Summit, October 17, 18, 19 & 24th - The Small Business Public Relations & Media Marketing Event

Saturday, September 29, 2007

1st Fridays Blogging for Business October 5th!

You are invited to join 1st Fridayz™ brought to you by The WECAI Network™.

1st Fridayz™ is a 36-hour email networking event that takes place on the eFriday Forum listserv. 1st Fridayz™ begins this Friday, October 5th at 8 AM Eastern Time and goes until 8 PM Eastern Time on Saturday, October 5th. In addition to participating in lively discuss topics of interest to women business owners, professionals and executives. 1st Fridayz™ networking events allows participants to get to know more about the products and services each offers.

Last month we had our first blog showcases and interviews with 4 blog experts. It was wonderful! Everyone who attends the October event will have the opportunity to listen to experts talk about BLOG CARNIVALS as well as HOW TO MONETIZE YOUR BLOG.

The showcase focus for October is blogging, we will ask you to show us your blog as well as answer some key questions such as why you started your blogs, what your goals are, your focus, target audience and what you enjoy most about blogging? We will also want to know what you find to be the most difficult part of starting/maintaining your blog as well as how you promote it. In essence, the October showcases will be mini-interviews.

If you are interested in SHOWCASING, please contact our Showcase Chair Teresa Morrow of Key Business Partners. Her email is KeyBusinessPartners.com@gmail.com.

To attend our event, go to http://listserv.familynet.net/mailman/listinfo/wecai and register.

Because this is an email networking/webinar event you will receive the discussions, questions, answers and introductions via email to your inbox. I recommend you set your email at DIGEST, so you won't be inundated with messages. I also recommend you not use your primary email address if another one is available. This will help you separate your important business messages from the networking event.

Instructions and a networking profile will be sent early next week.

In addition to all this great networking, blog discussions and showcasing, there will be book and prize give-aways throughout the 36-hour event and even a few surprises. BTW, if you attended in the past, you don't have to do re-sign up, just fill out a networking profile before the event! The profiles will be compiled and included in a networking booklet we distribute to all participants.

If you have any questions, please email me at heidi@wecai.org.

Hope to see you there!

Heidi

Heidi Richards, Founder & CEO - The WECAI Network™ - www.wecai.org
Join us for the Women’s Media Summit, October 17, 18, 19 & 24th – The Small Business Public Relations & Media Marketing Event – www.womensmediasummit.com

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Adding Women Bloggers to my list of Favorites

"The only race you have to win is the race against yourself - there will always be someone faster and stronger but there will nev.r be another you, so look within and push your own personal boundaries." Kimerly Adamson



If you have been following this blog, you know that I have created my own list of women bloggers which was inspired by the "W" list started byValeria Maltoni (which I hope to be included in one day) - After all I write 4 blogs - We Magazine for Women, Virtual Woman’s Day, Women’s Media Summit and Heidi Richards. And will be launching my newest blog in the next two weeks (shhhhhh.... it's still a secret). The race with myself is on!

In the next few days you will see my full compilation here.

However, today I wanted to add to that growing list because these women are not necessarily household names (yet), and their blogs are definitely worth perusing and subsribing to.

They are:

Personal Life Media with Susan Bratton

Bamboo Women with Jeannette Fisher

Bannerisms with Kerry McCoy

Have Fun, Do Good with Britt Bravo

Home Office Woman with Doris Chua

Clutter Diet Blog with Lori Marrero

Brain Based Business with Dr. Ellen Weber

A Woman in Business with Erica Brooks

ProActive with Sally Falkow

Career Diva with Eve Tahmincioglu

Be sure and stop by their blogs and say Hi!


Heidi

Heidi Richards, Founder & CEO - The WECAI Network™ - www.wecai.org
Join us for the Women’s Media Summit, October 17, 18, 19 & 24th – The Small Business Public Relations & Media Marketing Event – www.womensmediasummit.com

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Join us for the Womens Media Summit October 17-19 & 24, 2007

"If you have a great ambition, take as big a step as possible in the direction of fulfilling it. The step may only be a tiny one, but trust that it may be the largest one possible for now." Mildred McAfee


The WECAI NETWORK™ is excited to present this four + day webinar/teleconference Event to “Help Women Do Business On and Off the Web.” Here is your chance to attend the Virtual event that is both educational and inspirational. Bringing together experts in newspapers, magazines, television, radio and internet media, the Women’s Media Summit offers business owners and professionals the opportunity to meet the people who can make a difference in their businesses and careers.

This Summit is sure to be an important learning experience for women entrepreneurs and professionals who wish to expand their small business public relations and media marketing strategies and plans.

This four-day virtual event features interviews, workshops and networking will be led by some of the world’s most talented public relations, media and business owners in the world. Our Summit is designed to help you develop your plans and strategies, stimulate your thinking and assist all stages of planning your media and public relations marketing campaigns. During this summit you’ll get to meet, chat, network, and get to pick some of the best brains in the public relations and media marketing today.

15 experts will share their wisdom with you! They are: Shannon Cherry, Raleigh Pinskey, Paul Hartunian, Annie Jennings, Marilyn Jenett, Catherine Franz, Bev Mahone, Lori Prokop, Chrisine Hohlbaum, Sherryl Lin Haldy, Nancy Juetten, Samantha Ettus, Jason Kaufman, Kirsten Osolind and Ponn Sabra!

For more information, visit: http://www.womensmediasummit.com TODAY!

Be sure and sign up for the feeds - every day we will be posting a new Media Marketing Tip to help you get your message to the media. Tomorrow's tip is about Building Your Media Database.

Warmest regards,

Heidi

Heidi Richards, Founder & CEO - The WECAI Network™ - www.wecai.org
Join us for the Women’s Media Summit, October 17, 18, 19 & 24th – The Small Business Public Relations & Media Marketing Event – www.womensmediasummit.com

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Women Bloggers Going Green!

"I thought I could change the world. It took me a hundred years to figure out I can't change the world. I can only change Bessie. And honey, that ain't easy either. "
Dr. Annie Elizabeth (Bessie) Delany, D.D.S


Beginning with the Winter Issue of WE Magazine for Women, we are going to have a new column - it is called GREENWISE and will be edited by Bea Kunz of Sage Hill Farms.

To kick-off the new column we are creating a list of resources to add to the WE Magazine Blog. That's where you come it! If you know of any great resources, websites, blogs, books, shopping, products, etc that are environmentally desirable, please post here in the comments section, or email me at heidi (at) wecai.org with Green Living Resources in the subject line. I will be happy to include them on this blog, on the WE Magazine blog and they may even end up in our magazine!

In the meantime, I wanted to add to the list of GREAT Women Bloggers with women who focus on Green living.

They are:

In Women We Trust – Changing Products, Changing Services, Changing the World with Mary Clare Hunt

A Million Women Impacting the Planet - Be One in a Million with Diane MacEachern

All Green Directory with Tara Burner

Green Factoids with Brooke Jewett Nadell

Green Guide for Kids with Deidre Gill

Be sure and check out their blogs and say HI! Let them know you saw it here first.

And remember to send me your resources!

Have a GREEN DAY!


Heidi
Heidi Richards, Founder & CEO
www.WECAI.org - “Helping Women Do Business on and off the WEB™”

Monday, September 10, 2007

Even more Great Women Bloggers!

"We don't need a reason to blog, just an audience willing to read and when inclined, to participate in our conversations." Heidi Richards

Here are a dozen more great women bloggers I wanted to acknowledge and add to my list!

They are:

Daily SGS with Kristina Pottel

I Dare You Blog by Angela Treat Lyon

More Than We Know by Liz Fuller

Main Street Media Savvy by Nancy Juetten

Burnt By the Tuscan by Francesca Maggi

Moms Coffee Break by Tonya Ramsey

Empower Women Now by Ponn Sabra

Pictures to Ponder by Sheila Finkelstein

Create a Thriving Business by Jenn Givler

Stairstep Method by Dr Taffy Wagner

Baby Boomer Bev by Beverly Mahone

Bertha’s Blogging by Jane Carroll

Be sure and stop by their blogs and check them out. There's something for everyone.

Warmest regards

Heidi

Blogging for Business - Resources!

"Blogging, the best online communication tool for the time, effort and money, bar none!"
Heidi Richards


1st Fridayz™ is behind us and I again wanted to thank everyone who participated.

Our speakers were outstanding!

Our showcasers really knew how to "show off their blogs!"

And we had fun.

Our participants loved the new format. In fact, it was such a great success, we are going to do it again next month. So mark October 5th on your calendar because we are going to host "Blogging for Business - Part two." And you're invited to attend!

To read the details and see all the resources from this event, visit: http://www.wecai.org/wemagazine/?p=25

Warmest regards,

Heidi
Heidi Richards, Founder & Chief Visionary The WECAI Network - “Helping Women Do Business on and off the WEB™”
Our blogs: WE Magazine for Women and VirtualWomansDay
To download a Complimentary Copy of our latest eBook “GET IT WRITE,” visit - http://wecai.org/wwps/html/getitwrite.html

Monday, September 3, 2007

Speakers Announced for 1st Fridayz!

"There are no laurels in life...just new challenges." Katharine Hepburn




Here is the lineup of speakers and showcases for our September 1st Fridayz event – “Blogging for Business.

The following schedule is for our online webinar/teleconference portion of our event. All the times in between will be dedicated to email networking – attendees will receive questions via the listserv which can be answered and distributed to everyone throughout the 36 hour event. All times are in Eastern Daylight Time.

September 7th
Speaker 1 – Heidi Caswell of Connect Simply is being interviewed from 12 Noon to 12:45 pm

Blog Showcases from 12:45 to 1:45 pm
Speaker 2 –Liz Strauss of Successful and Outstanding Blog from 4 pm – 4:45 pm

Blog Showcases from 4:45 to 5:45 pm

Speakers 3 & 4 – Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff of The Blog Squad, Build a Better Blog and Blogging and Beyond 7pm to 7:45 pm

Blog Showcases from 7:45 to 8:45 pm

September 8th
Speaker 5- Faith Smith – of Bras trapping and Eyecreamshades is being interviewed from 11 am to 11:45 am
Blog Showcases from 11:45 am to 12:45 pm



In addition, we have some exciting prize give-aways …. Here they are:

Law of Attraction Immersion Kit by Jenn Givler of J Givler Coaching

A gift of Health - 32oz Bottle of Tunguksa Blast, 10 unique non-toxic adaptogens bringing balance to the body and mind donated by Christian Perkins, Solutions Analysis, Inc.

30 day free trial of Hello World and all the services we offer which includes a place to store and create your blogs Compliments of Bev D’Amico of www.Digitalagegold.com/bdamico

Several Books will also be given away by The WECAI Network™

And for the BIG ONE: Everyone who attends the 1st Fridayz event, will receive one hour of free services compliments of Teresa Morrow of Key Business Partners – whooo hooo!

Each attendee will also receive a networking book complete with everyone’s contact info and business description. A great way to stay in touch and continue the conversations.

We are really looking forward to hearing from many of you. I do hope you will join us.


If you have not yet signed up, go to http://listserv.familynet.net/mailman/listinfo/wecai and sign up. Instructions to participate will be sent once you register.


Heidi

Heidi Richards, Founder & Chief Visionary The WECAI Network - “Helping Women Do Business on and off the WEB™”
Our blogs: WE Magazine for Women and VirtualWomansDay
To download a Complimentary Copy of our latest eBook “GET IT WRITE,” visit - http://wecai.org/wwps/html/getitwrite.html

Friday, August 31, 2007

You are invited to join 1st Fridayz™ brought to you by the WECAI Network™

1st Fridayz™ is a 36-hour email networking event that takes place on the eFriday Forum listserv. 1st Fridayz™ begins on Friday, September 7th at 8 AM Eastern Time and goes until 8 PM Eastern Time on Saturday, September 8th. In addition to participating in lively discuss topics of interest to women business owners, professionals and executives. 1stFridayz™ networking events allows participants to get to know more about the products and services each offers.

1st Fridayz™ are designed to be a rich mix of conversations, one-on-one interviews, and panel discussions. And the beauty of an email event is that you can come and go and interact as you please. You are not attached to your computer keyboard unless you want to be.

Like previous 1st Fridayz™ the September event has a twist to it. The first 20 people to reply to this message will have the opportunity participate in a 10 minute "blog showcase" in our (pc friendly) online conference room. Your blog will also be added to the 100 Great Women Bloggers List we will be unveiling on the WE Magazine blog in September.

Since the showcase focus for September is blogging, we will ask you to show us your blog as well as answer so key questions such as why you started your blogs, what your goals are, your focus, target audience and what you enjoy most about blogging? We will also want to know what you find to be the most difficult part of starting/maintaining your blog as well as how you promote it. In essence, the September showcases will be mini-interviews.

Showcases will take place in the conference room and will scheduled between 12:30 and 1:30 pm, 4:30 and 5:30 pm, and 8:30 and 9:30 pm on Friday and 11:30 and 12:30 pm on Saturday (all Eastern Daylight Time). Times are on a first-come basis. Go here to convert the time in your part of the world: www.timeanddate.com.

For those of you who are unable to join us in the conference room, you will be able to hear the conversations and participate via a teleconference bridge line. You will be able to showcase your blog even if you cannot attend in the room, because you will supply the URL of your blog, and we will follow along with you - while you are on the phone you can give a tour via your own computer.

Teresa Morrow of Key Business Partners is the September Showcase Chair and will be coordinating the showcase times. Her email is keybusinesspartners (at) gmail.com. You may also send a message heidi (at) wecai.org with "SHOWCASE" in the body of the email and I will forward it to her.

And we have an educational component to our event. The theme for September is "BLOGGING FOR BUSINESS" and five or six guest experts will be interviewed during our Conference Room Networking times. The experts we have lined up so far are Patsi Krakoff and Denise Wakeman aka The Blog Squad, Liz Strauss of Successful and Outstanding Blog(gers), Heidi Caswell of Connect Simply, and two other "surprise guests!"

1st Fridayz™ is a free event. That’s right! There is no charge to attend and participate in these discussions. However, showcases are reserved for members of the WECAI Network™. If you are not currently a member, you can sign up for free as a Basic member and give the WECAI Network™ a try. And as a thank you for participating you will receive a directory with a complete list of every participant.

In addition to the networking directory which everyone who signs up will receive, there will be book and prize give-aways throughout the 36-hour event and even a few surprises. BTW, if you attended in the past, you don't have to do re-sign up, just fill out a networking profile before the event!

So if you have not attended a previous 1st Fridayz(tm), please go to http://listserv.familynet.net/mailman/listinfo/wecai and register.


Because this is an email networking event you will receive the discussions, questions, answers and introductions via email to your inbox. I recommend you set your email at DIGEST, so you won't be inundated with messages. I also recommend you not use your primary email address if another one is available. This will help you separate your important business messages from the networking event.

One last thing, I also suggest you create a folder to put the messages in so you can check them when you have time and not feel overwhelmed by the amount of information that will be shared, and fully absorb all the information as well as reconnect with those women who attended.

On September 4th you will be asked to submit a "networking profile" introducing you to the group. Even if you have completed the profile from our previous event, please do so again. We are going to encourage participants to click on your links and get to know you. We will also be using the information you supply to create questions participants can answer and some will even include an opportunity to "W.I.N." some great prizes.

If you would like to donate a prize, let me know and I will include it in Future communications, in our next eMonday News as well as post it to our blogs, this one and WE Magazine for Women Blog. This is a great way to gain extra visibility for your products and services.

THANKS! We look forward to networking with you and learning more about what you do and how we can help you do business on the web.


Heidi & Suzannah

Co-Founders - The WECAI Network
"Helping Women Do Business on and off the WEB"