Never before in my life have I felt such an outpouring of gratefulness, generosity, and caring as I have witnessed over the last several weeks. Don’t know if I was just wearing the right clothes, or smelled just so, but I have had the pleasure of seeing some amazing things first hand. And, I feel glad from it.

Everywhere around us, we witness the world. Some of it can seem frightening. If you listen to the general attention monger media, you might conclude that we should all be in a constant state of fear.

But here’s the deal – fear is a state of mind, not an automatic reaction. When we open our eyes to beauty and miracles, we see that instead. Call me a rose-colored glasses wearing optimist, but hope and forward looking visioning feels better to experience. It gives me more strength of spirit to face the issues that need addressing and to take action. Fear cripples – hope and love uplift. Fear is a choice and it is not my choice today.

In honor of this elation and well…gratitude I feel for the wondrous and hopeful things I see around me, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite causes. If you have one you love, please list it in comments below so we can all know about the good work they are doing and how we can help.

Kiva.org – Microlending site: For as little as $25 you can provide much needed credit assistance to deserving entrepreneurs worldwide. Most entrepreneurs who use microlending are women.
RoomToRead.org – Literacy program started by ex-Microsoft executive, John Wood, that builds libraries throughout the developing world. Room to Read’s programs have reached more than three million children so far and hopes to improve literacy for ten million children by 2020.
WomenForWomen.org – Women for Women International provides women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with the tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency.
Charity: Water - Almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean drinking water. That’s one in eight of us. charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of public donations directly fund water projects.

We have the power within ourselves to create a world of peace, understanding, tolerance, and health. Thank you to everyone who is working toward this vision – know that many of us stand in gratitude for what you do.

Together, we are stronger!

Vicki Flaugher, CEO
SmartWomanGuides.com

Here is the latest release of stories about amazing female entrepreneurs and the challenges (and rewards) they experience in building and running their business. Enjoy!

Fione Tan in the Top 10 National Women Entrepreneurs Award 2008
PressZoom (press release) – Amsterdam,Netherlands
Fione Tan, President and CEO of eOneNet, is among the top 10 women entrepreneurs in the inaugural National Women Entrepreneurs Award 2008, …
See all stories on this topic

Minister Guergis Congratulates Women Entrepreneurs
Canada NewsWire (press release) – Toronto,Ontario,Canada
9 /CNW Telbec/ – The Honourable Helena Guergis, Minister of State (Status of Women) congratulates the recipients of the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur …
See all stories on this topic

2008′s big buzzword in giving: Micro
Marketplace – Los Angeles,CA,USA
Bernholz: So, a microconsignment program, such as that which is run by Living Goods in Uganda, helps individual women become entrepreneurs, self-sustaining …
See all stories on this topic

Women locked out of Sh700m loans
Standard – Nairobi,Kenya
By Benson Kathuri Women entrepreneurs cannot access more than Sh700 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) due to unfriendly lending procedures by …
See all stories on this topic

Number of Female Farmers on the Rise
WQOW TV News 18 – Eau Claire,USA
Some women inherit farms or are partners with spouses or others, but a growing number are entrepreneurs. Jane Eckert is chief executive of Eckert …
See all stories on this topic

Kashf awards for 10 women entrepreneurs
The News International – Karachi,Pakistan
By By Our Correspondent KASHF Foundation on Sunday presented ‘Kashf Micro Entrepreneurship Award 2008’ to ten women entrepreneurs from its portfolio at a …
See all stories on this topic

Finance trust eyes microfinace status next year
Daily Nation – Nairobi,Kenya
She said that by the end of this year, KWFT will have disbursed Sh9 billion in loans to female entrepreneurs countrywide. Ms Riria said the money will be …
See all stories on this topic

Guatemala’s Mayan Entrepreneur Women and Christian Children’s Fund …
The Guatemala Times – Guatemala,Guatemala,Guatemala
4, 2008 – The Actively Engaged Mayan Women, or Mujeres Emprendedoras Mayas in the rural area of Tecpan, Guatemala, have accepted a mission. …
See all stories on this topic

Nigeria: NGO Harps On Poverty Reduction Through Micro-Credit
AllAfrica.com – Washington,USA
According to her, “The entrepreneur has all it takes and can make a significant difference to Nigeria’s economic development. Microfinance brings the power …
See all stories on this topic

“India needs game changers In microfinance” Nancy Bar Nancy Barry …
By Lokesh(Abhay)
Enterprise Solutions to Poverty has engaged leading companies in India—including Tata, Reliance, ITC and Mahindra—as well as some emerging entrepreneurs— such as FabIndia, ICICI Foundation and SELCO. These companies are paving the way …
India Microfinance – http://www.indiamicrofinance.com/

As you can see from the stories, microfinancing is a big issue. Be thankful for the opportunities you have and try to help another. Kiva is my favorite microfinancing organization, but there are many ways to get involved. It’s a great way to change lives!

Together, we are stronger!
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Sometimes being an entrepreneur seems expensive and seriously daunting, but I have words of encouragement today. There are many affordable (and yes, free) ways to promote yourself beyond expensive ad campaigns and here are some ideas to get you going.

1. Barter your services for promotional sponsorship ads for area events.
2. Write topically relevant articles and submit to free article directory sites such as EzineArticles.com
3. Submit your site (with a great description) to online directories that reach your target audience.
4. Make comments on related audience, high ranking blogs, with active links back to your site. I use CommentKahuna to find the top ranked blogs that are relevant to what I do. It’s free and easy.
5. Speak about your area of expertise for local groups or via teleseminar and internet radio.
6. Answer calls from media for experts at HARO.
7. Completely fill out all of your social media profiles, with picture and website link. Yes, ALL of them.
8. Start a YouTube account and begin giving chats using your webcam. Upload for free.
9. Start a BlogTalkRadio show and start reaching your target audience there. Again, it’s free.
10. Use Craigslist to promote yourself. You have to relist your ads periodically but it’s free exposure.
11. Use the online classified ads for all the major papers – most are free.
12. Participate in book launch promotions where you give a free gift through a squeeze page to build your list of potential customers.
13. Give a gift to a charity raffle which lists its contributors in their advertising.
14. Contribute articles to magazines looking for experts. Many online magazines are hungry for new content.
15. Get a blog – if you don’t already have one, get one today. You can sign up for free on the WordPress site and be up within the hour.
16. Set up an eBay account and sell a teaser product there. The account is free, it allows you to take credit cards without a merchant account, and you can sell low cost items designed to drive people to your site.
17. Interview someone interesting and post the interview on your blog. The person you interviewed will almost always list your website with a link to the interview on their site as well. I use BYOAudio ($20/month) and it handles all of my needs. I use Audacity to edit the material, and it’s free.
18. Create a free directory listing on your website and offer a web badge that participants can post on their sites as proud members of your listing. I use a wordpress plugin that makes it easy.
19. Create promotional items such as t-shirts, coffee mugs, bumper stickers, and sell them on CafePress. It’s free to set up an account and it’s free advertisement when people use the products.
20. Joint venture with others – share in the costs, barter your services instead of paying cash, and piggy back what you do with someone else who offers a complimentary service or product.

Put away your wallet and commit a bit of time and you will have some great avenues of promotion. Don’t complain or lament about the “state of the economy”. Make your own magic by jumping in with both feet into the opportunities that are out there, today, available now. Do every single one of these things with the question “What would an entrepreneur do?” and you will be amazed at the results. Best of success to you!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

follow me on Twitter: SmartWoman

by Vicki Flaugher, CEO of SmartWoman Guides in celebration of Blog Action Day to discuss poverty and it’s solutions.

Microfinancing, according to Wikipedia, refers to the provision of financial services to poor or low-income clients, including consumers and the self-employed. The term also refers to the practice of sustainably delivering those services.

More broadly, it refers to a movement that envisions “a world in which as many poor and near-poor households as possible have permanent access to an appropriate range of high quality financial services, including not just credit but also savings, insurance, and fund transfers.”

Many female entrepreneurs worldwide have taken loans, which are relatively small amounts in US dollars, and turned them into businesses that feed dozens of people, sometimes their whole village. I love this idea because it creates a cultural, psychological, and financial infrastructure that encourages the democratization of social power. Anyone who applies, provided they meet the often relaxed criteria, can get money to help them build a business.

How can microfinancing bring world peace? Some would argue that full-fledged wars, or even just one well-placed bullet, is the answer to eliminating dictators and oppressive governments, but I don’t. For one, I am a pacifist, and two, assassination of a leader does not create the infrastructure for democratized power that needs to be in place for a general population to rise up.

Much like the elephants in a circus who are trained from birth that they can’t escape because they are held by a heavy chain and then eventually not needing the chain at all to stay put, all of us learn to adapt. It’s called “learned helplessness”. It’s negative effects, in terms of poverty and oppression, where a people stay suppressed because it’s how to survive, can be reversed. We can learn that there are alternative solutions and act upon them, given sufficient hope and support and belief in the possibility of success.

Microfinancing allows the environment to support social change. This change leads to economic freedom and independence of both spirit and financial sustenance. When a people decide for themselves they’ve had enough and they deserve better, oppressive governments don’t stand a chance. They crumble. And what’s left once they crumble are citizens who are able to stand up on their own, who choose their own destiny, who face the future making their own choices.

When people are not hungry, war is less common.When citizens have the means to create businesses and provide for their family the food they need to prevent hunger, the urge for war diminishes. Using the premise that it’s better to teach someone to fish rather than give them a fish, microfinancing allows individuals to be empowered and capable to achieve their dreams. It grows the required personal and cultural infrastructure that needs to be in place for the democratization of social power to occur.

As entrepreneurs ourselves, I believe it is our priviledge and duty to reach out to our fellow entrepreneurs worldwide. Let’s build a peaceful, loving world together. Today, you could give $25 and enable a woman in Africa to start a business. I encourage you all to visit some of the links below and do what you can. It all matters and it all helps.

• Kiva.org
• Opportunity.org
• ACCION.org
• PlanetFinanceGroup.org
• ARCRelief.org
• VillageBanking.org
• CalvertFoundation.org
• OptInNow.org
• GlobalPartnerships.org
• MicroPlace.com

Thank you for all you do and have a great day!

Together, we are stronger!
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

follow me on Twitter: SmartWoman

There is a no-strings attached gift from Eldon Taylor just for taking a look at this event, a gift that was designed just to bring unity to the world. You cannot get much better than that.

You can buy the book here, if you’d like, then proceed to the bonus page, put in your receipt number and get access to the bonus gifts available for those who purchase, as well as claim your no-strings attached gift just for visiting Eldon’s site. I’ve read the book – it really is great, so I have no reservations about encouraging you to check it out.

Here’s the press release and bonus offer, including the details on their charitable contribution to Women for Women:

The Gift of Self Actualization

Eldon Taylor’s International and New York Times best selling book, Choices and Illusions, states that “the real meaning in life comes from what you give, not from what you take. . . . that the “warm fuzzy feeling” we derive from a true service experience—going to the aid of another in need—is the best feeling we can have when we put our head on the pillow each night.”

Today, Eldon has put together an amazing special offer that just keeps on giving. In fact there is a bonus gift for you, just for clicking on the link below and reading his inspiring special offer.

Click here for more details.
Eldon Taylon Choices and Illusion Bonus Offer

For every copy of Choices and Illusions sold, Eldon will make a donation to Women for Women International of $1. Women for Women is an award-winning non-profit that provides women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with the tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency, thereby promoting viable civil societies. They currently work in eight countries including Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Kosovo, Nigeria, Rwanda and Sudan. They have served over 150,000 women and distributed more than $42 million in direct aid and loans. You can see for yourself the fabulous work they do by going to: womenforwomen.org

In addition to raising money for Women for Women, you will also receive over 100 additional gifts from leading visionaries, such as Don Miguel Ruiz, James Van Praagh, Louise Hay, Wayne Dyer, Jack Canfield and of course myself, just for purchasing one copy of Choices and Illusions, which costs less than $15.

Choices and Illusions does a great job at explaining, in a very down to earth way, how your mind works, why some changes can be so difficult to make, and how you can take control of your own mind to create the life of your choosing. You owe it to yourself to learn all that Choices and Illusions has to offer and then apply it to your own life. Readers from around the world are reporting huge changes in their lives when they did just that and now it is your turn.

Enjoy the no-strings gift and THANK YOU very much for your contribution to providing women around the world the means to build a better life for themselves, their families, and their communities.

Together, we are stronger!
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman
Click here to follow me on Twitter

Are You Ready for a Challenge?
 
There’s nothing like quite like a good old fashioned challenge to see what we are made of, to push the boundaries and test the limits as its only when we overcome these type of trials and challenges that we reap the sweetest rewards in life.
 
September 22nd is an important date as it marks the 100 day countdown of 2008. With that in mind, I wanted to share with you a unique opportunity called the 100 Day Finish Strong Challenge.
 
Gary Ryan Blair, otherwise know as The Goals Guy has put together what I believe to be the most comprehensive approach to goal setting and performance enhancement.

The 100 Day Finish Strong Challenge is a structured performance improvement program where challengers compete against themselves to achieve a number of challenging goals and finish the year strong. I’ve signed up for it and am inviting all aspiring entrepreneurs who need an end of year kick in the pants to accept the challenge and get going. It’s only up from here, baby!
 
To get on the priority notification list for the challenge, go to this website right now and watch a really inspiring video as well:

SmartWoman Recommends The Goals Guy – 100 Day Challenge!

I wish you a great home stretch during these last 100 days and encourage you to dream big dreams and take the necessary actions to make them reality!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

P.S. You can also sign up for this program to promote it as an affiliate here.

I will be adding a new revenue stream to my life (on this website or others) every day for the next 30 days. I will keep you posted on my progress.

The rules I will follow are simple:

Must be leveraged, passive, or residual in nature.
Must be something I believe in and can recommend with integrity.
Must be in keeping with my audience’s needs.
Must be fun, easy, and now.

I am open to your suggestions on what you’d like to see available here, so feel free to add your input in the comment section. And, if you’re inspired, do the same month of products for yourself and let us know about what you’re doing.

Wish me luck!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

P.S. If you want to keep posted on the monthly progress, be sure to sign up for my RSS feed or follow me on twitter @SmartWoman

Warren Whitlock: Warren is one of my all time favorite free publicity guys. You can get involved by offering your products as bonuses for author’s book launches, which will get you some very nice traffic. You can also get great tips on how to promote yourself as an author too.

Warren has been working lately on Twitter a lot and he is fast becoming a super user. You can click on his name to check out his blog and you can follow Warren on twitter as well.

Honestly, Warren Whitlock does lots of things–see if you like him too. I do! I think he offers great information. 

Short but sweet. I’m on a road trip for an investment training class. Until I return on Thursday evening, stay happy!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

P.S. Note: Just in case you haven’t noticed, I am launching a weekly update newsletter. You can sign up for it by filling out the form on the upper right corner of the page. I promise I won’t SPAM you and will only send you good stuff.

P.S.S. I made a commitment to myself to laugh more so I found a great way to do it–this is just a silly, tangential thing, but I bet you laugh also.

Feel the blood pumping through you? That’s the state of mind your business should generate, right?

We are all focused on satisfying our clients, developing products and services, and all the other administrative, sales, and marketing activities that go with running a business. It’s not always so easy to take a step out of our bubbles and see how others see us. But, it’s crucial.

As women, some of us are a bit shy about our image. We don’t necessarily want to be in the spotlight. And,  we tend to shy away from our missteps. We’d rather hide under a rock than objectively examine our mistakes. But, I would ask you to consider this:

If you get a glimpse of you and your business from the outside, you will learn things about how and why you get new sales (or not) and also how you can contribute even more. And, it’s kinda fun!

So, this weekend, as a professional curiousity, go Google yourself–your personal name, your business name, your website name, maybe your executives’ names. If you have extra time, type in the words that describe the service you provide and see what comes up. It can be a real eye opener.

All I am asking you to do is to see what you see. It’s about awareness, not shame or judgement. See it all. Be ok with it. You can and will change what you don’t like but you have to see it first

Notice what blurps come up with your web page descriptions–would YOU click on it to buy what you’re selling? How many pages are you on? Who is there along with you? What are your competitors doing that you could learn from?

Notice who mentions you. If you don’t know them, you should.  Business is all about relationships and you could build some new ones with people who are already mentioning you.

Don’t neglect to notice where you are doing a great job also. This is an exercise in finding the good too, not just the not-so-good. You are bound to be doing things right and it can be very satisfying to become aware of that. It’s important to celebrate when you find gold. (Victory dances are encouraged.)

So, until next time, have fun and report back what you discover!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

p.s. I  discovered that a link to SmartWoman is now available in Russian–how cool is that?