Creative Juices Design Studio

6 Tips on Running a Home Based Business

admin — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:59:53 +0000

A lovely rose garden leads to the entrance of Creative Juices.

Running your business at home sounds great. I started my business in 1981 out of my parents home. From there I moved my office several times. From store fronts to industrial parks, then to an office building and now my own home.

Too Many Distractions

I love working at home. The commute is very easy. I work off my living room in what once was a one car garage. Two glass French Doors lead off the driveway into the office. A blanket of rose bushes guide the way. In Spring and Summer it’s quite beautiful.

It also means lots of distractions. It’s easy to take a few minutes to prune the roses and pull a few weeds. My Chihuahua loves to sleep on my lap, preventing me from moving.

Occasionally my two foster boys, ages 5 and 7, are home from school with lots of needs.

Then there’s laundry, cleaning, mail, dog walks etc. It’s not easy to keep your mind focused on actual work.

How to Get Work Done

So here’s my suggestions for working at home and staying on track.

Set aside a dedicated workspace. Having your own room would be ideal. If not, create a little nook somewhere.
Start and stop work at specific times. Give yourself a schedule and stick to it.
Turn off the TV and iPad. You’re there to work, not play.
Take a break (after several hours of working, of course). Walk around the block and clear your head.
Tell the neighbors, children, dog, cat that you are not to be disturbed when you’re “on the clock”.
Only answer your business phone. Forget the telemarketers on your home phone (if you still have one).

Easy peasy. Feel free to share your tips too.

Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter. Free tips on how to market your business.

5 Simple Ways to Achieve Amazing Small Business Success

admin — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 19:18:46 +0000

Image courtesy of Ohmega1982 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Running a small business is an art. You have to trust your instincts and use your talents to achieve success.

It takes a lot of hard work, research and study. Never give up on your dreams.

I’ve been running Creative Juices for over 32 years. It never gets easier. In fact, with today’s economy and the changing field of graphic design, it is a daily challenge to stay up to date and relevant.

That is why I am constantly reading and studying the news for anything related to social media marketing and changes in technology for website design and function.

Here are five simple ways you can increase your chances for business success:

Engage the readers of your website with a variety of content. Make sure it’s helpful and useful.
Try using pictures, polls, tips, facts or even videos in your social media mix.
Sign up with all the social media you can keep up with. Try Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as the minimum.
Give great customer service and you will retain your customers. And they’ll tell their friends.
Keep your website current and active. You want customers to keep coming back for more.

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Check out the following articles. They will help you reach your goals of business success.

Facebook Marketing: Why Less Is More

7 Ways to Beef Up Your Sales Strategy

5 Ways Small Businesses Get Social Media Wrong

The 10 Commandments of Using Pinterest for Business (Infographic)

5 Tips for Marketing Your Small Business

admin — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:14:24 +0000

You Can Never Stop Marketing

Image: chanpipat / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Not only do you have to run your business, but you have to market it too. Can you believe that? It doesn’t self market itself. If only.

Here are some simple tips to help get you started:

Create a website. If you already have one, then update it.
Start a blog on your website.
Sign up with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. You may also consider Google + and Pinterest.
Start a mailing list and send out regular eNewsletters using a service like Constant Contact or MailChimp.
Give top notch customer service.

Check out these articles:

34 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed

Mashable Weekend Recap: 47 Stories You Might Have Missed

Five Tips to Inspire Innovation at Your Small Business

The Super Simple Guide to Using and Marketing Through Pinterest – Part One

6 Powerful YouTube SEO Tips That No One Talks About

What You Need to Know Before Running a Facebook Promotion

Mashable Weekend Recap: 31 Stories You Might Have Missed

48 New Digital Media Resources You Might Have Missed

How to Promote a New Product on Your Ecommerce Site

Mashable Weekend Recap: 35 Stories You Might Have Missed

49 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed

Branding 101: Five Tips for Solopreneurs

39 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed

Mashable Weekend Recap: 51 Stories You Might Have Missed

Four Ways LinkedIn Can Help Your Business Grow

What You Should Know Before Starting Your Own Business

admin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:48:24 +0000

Image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Are you an entrepreneur?

Starting a business is not easy. It can be fun, exciting and scary.

I started Creative Juices in 1981. I was a mere child. There was no internet. There was no Mac. There was little competition.

Today life is much more complicated for small business owners. There are lots of things to be aware of. I’m going to list a few of the ones directly related your business image.

First Impressions are Very Important

Get a logo design. It must be clean, professional, and timeless. It should represent you and your company.
Start a website. This is the hub of your business. Everything flows from and to your site. This includes all social media.
Create an email list. You must encourage visitors to give their email addresses on your site in order to stay in touch with current and potential clients. Perhaps offer a free ebook or newsletter.
Set up a newsletter. Regular newsletters are a great way to get people to remember you.

This is only a tiny bit of information to help get you started, graphically speaking. There’s a whole lot of other stuff you should know. My goal is to help you get your business going in the right direction.

You can never have too much information (or can you?!) Check out the following business related articles:

8 Legal Steps for Starting Your Business

Four Questions to Ask Before Setting a Price

10 Essential Features of Every Good Business Website

Here’s the latest digital media and social marketing news from Mashable:

42 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed

Mashable Weekend Recap: 30 Stories You Might Have Missed

37 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed

Find Creative Juices on Facebook and Twitter. See sidebar for links.

Don’t forget to “like” me on Facebook. Sign up for my FREE e-Newletter too.

Email Marketing by Constant Contact makes it easy to connect with your customers. Try it FREE for 60-Days.

How to Take Charge of your Business Success

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:32:32 +0000

It’s not easy running your own business. Especially if you’re doing it by yourself, like me. Don’t let your business run itself into the ground. Take Charge.

One way to do that is by checking out what other people are saying about your business. Whether good or bad, it’s important to know where you stand. Then you can act upon that information.

Check out the following link for online reputation management tips.

4 Online Reputation Management Tips for 2012

Also catch up on the latest articles from Mashable.

Mashable Weekend Recap: 36 Stories You May Have Missed

39 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed

Mashable Weekend Recap: 32 Stories You May Have Missed

Business Success is Inevitable if You Know How to Market Yourself

admin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:16:06 +0000

Owning your own business can be fun and exciting. Often it’s a challenge, especially if you do it all yourself. You have to offer the best products or services at a price people want to pay. You also have to differentiate yourself from the herd of other similar businesses. Promoting or marketing your business is a daily job you can’t ignore.

It’s hard to keep up with the latest news on marketing. This is my attempt to help you by listing the latest articles I’ve found on Tech, Business, Social Media and Marketing. Enjoy.

Check these articles out:

Mashable Weekend Recap: 38 Stories You May Have Missed

The Top 10 Business Plan Mistakes

How to Streamline Site Navigation to Attract and Retain Customers

46 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed

How to Sell Anything Using Social Media

33 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed

If you have any questions on social media marketing or promoting your business, feel free to give me a call at 310-791-5803 or send me an email.

5 Killer Resources for Marketing Your Business

admin — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 19:25:10 +0000

The new year is about to start. In this week between Christmas and New Years, why not take the time to read up on ways to improve your business.

53 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed

Mashable Weekend Recap: 36 Stories You May Have Missed

5 Effective Online Marketing Tactics for 2012

4 Mobile Email-Marketing Tips

The Pros & Cons of Google+ for Small Business

How to Grow Your Business in 2012

admin — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 19:06:12 +0000

The new year is almost here. It’s never too late to grow your business. Why not make 2012 the year you reach your goals of success.

3 Ways to Grow Your Business

1. Did you know writing your goals down is a great way to reach them? Post them someplace you can see on a regular basis and you will consciously and unconsciously be moving in the right direction toward your goals.

2. Social media marketing is a great way to help your business grow. I constantly scan online media to find the latest and greatest ways to help spread the word that you have the best product or service.

3. Read up on the latest social marketing news. Mashable is a great source of social media, tech and business news, and marketing and entertainment related information.

Here is a summary of the last few weeks of interesting articles. I continue to keep up with Mashable daily. I hate falling behind on my social media news.

45 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed

80+ New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed

Mashable Weekend Recap: 30 Stories You May Have Missed

Mashable Weekend Recap: 28 Stories You May Have Missed

6 Helpful Business Tips for Success

admin — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 21:45:18 +0000

This is part of my new series of article collections. I regularly read the latest RSS feeds from blogs related to business marketing, such as Entrepreneur, Blogging Tips, Anthony Morrison and ProBlogger. In today’s busy world it’s often difficult to find time to read.

But modern technology came to the rescue. I have my iPhone, iPad and Kindle to help me catch up with my daily search for news. My favorite place to read is while exercising on the StairMaster at the gym. Every day I climb and read for an hour. Not only do I stay healthy but I get to read uninterrupted.

The following articles cover ways to be a successful business owner by boosting year end sales, how to utilize Google+ pages for your company, how to store your data in the cloud, how to advance your website’s SEO (search engine optimization) through social marketing, and how to stay out of trouble if you’re a blogger. Let me know what you think.

Find Creative Juices on Facebook and Twitter. See sidebar for links.

Don’t forget to “like” me on Facebook. Sign up for my FREE e-Newletter too.

Email Marketing by Constant Contact makes it easy to connect with your customers. Try it FREE for 60-Days.

Thanksgiving-Eve Marketing News You Can Use

admin — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:13:47 +0000

Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful for what you have. It’s also a good time to work on getting more… business that is.

Here are some helpful business marketing articles I’ve found interesting:

Measuring Offline Vs. Online Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Five New Online Tools for Finding Local Customers

Social Media: 4 Simple Principles To Convert the Harshest Critics

The Lede: 7 Writing and Marketing Links You Don’t Want to Miss

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This deal ends promptly at 7:00 pm Pacific time on Monday, November 28, 2011. Hurry up and get Premise Ultimate before they come to their senses!