One challenge for people who run a home-based business can be isolation. Sometimes home business professionals can end up becoming hermits. Even if you are not a hermit, chances are a major part of your business relies on referrals or some other form of networking.

In this great post, Jon Morrow, talks about how to avoid being a “home business hermit”.

Enjoy:
http://successfromthenest.com/content/home-based-hermit/
Danny

One of the keys in any business is the ability to create a differential advantage. A differential advantage is the thing or mix of things that cause customers to choose you over your competitors. It must be something that shows how different you are from everyone else. Having a differential advantage is vital in business and is becoming more important in the age of the web were customers can search between hundreds of customers very quickly.

Jonathan Fields has a great post about how important it is to be different, and gives some great ideas. If you can’t answer the question, “How is my business different from anyone else?” then you need to read this article:

http://freelanceswitch.com/finding/differentiate-or-die-marketing%e2%80%99s-magic-bullet/

Danny

One key for any entrepreneur today is to avoid Spamming. Spam is most frequently referred to as unwanted and unrequested emails, however the name can really go much deeper. Spam can be emails, but it can also be phone calls. It is important to build permission assets instead of using anything that might be considered spam.

Seth Godin has a great post about how even companies like Dell and The Better Business Bureau are engaging in spam practices. Practices that can only hurt their reputation.

Here is the link:

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/11/spam-they-still.html

Danny

One of the very best ways to continue to improve and develop is to listen to audio books and trainings. You can listen in your car, while you exercise, or even as you are doing basic work around the house.

Today with digital technology, music and even audio books can be downloaded very easily. For audio books that can often mean a substantial price reduction. One company that you can use for purchasing audio books at a good price is called Audible. I haven’t been using them long, but I am impressed with what I have found.

One of the neatest things is the ability for authors to have their own partner page, where they can feature their books and recommend others. Seth Godin’s page is excellent. Not only are his books excellent but he recommends some important books as well.

You can check out Audible and Seth’s page here:

http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/template/ext/landing.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&pac=Seth+Godin

What are your favorite audio programs?

Danny

What is the best thing you could do to grow your website, blog, or business, if you had 2 hours a day but no money? Recently a number of top bloggers were asked how they would market their site for free if they had 2 hours a day. The resulting comments were very insightful.

You can read the article here:

http://jonathanfields.com/blog/top-bloggers-reveal-how-to-build-traffic-off-blog-without-spending-a-dime/

Danny

One of the most inspiring and motivating speakers is Zig Ziglar. Zig’s web site is a great resource of materials. There are free podcasts and you can also access hundreds of hours of audio and video training. These trainings are part of the “Ziglar Vault”, which does have a small monthly fee – however there is one month free available.

Check out the site at:

http://www.zigziglar.com/personal_development.php

Danny