I came across this post by Tim Ferriss, author of one of my favorite books The Four Hour Work Week. Tim inspires me because of his philosophies about life and business, so I like to read what he has to say (and I recommend his book if you are looking for ideas on how to run a successful business and travel the world without working ungodly hours).

Of course, having kids adds a whole new dimension to all of this, but as soon as I figure out how to pair being a mompreneur and traveling the world, will certainly share it on this blog.

Anyway, he recently posted about the new book coming out from the owners of 37Signals, a company whose products I use regularly, and I wanted to share because there are some great insights captured in the excerpts that Tim shares here on his blog. In particular, I like the section on saying “no”, something we as mompreneurs must learn to master over time and a lesson I seem to learn the hard way every week .

Read entire post here…

I don’t know about you, but as much as I find Twitter easy to use, I’m still learning how to make it useful for my business purposes. One of the big challenges I’ve found has been in learning how to track how my account is doing, which tweets people are reading and responding to and how to better connect with my audience.

Here’s a great overview of to your Twitter account and start using that data to make meaningful business decisions.

Read entire article here…

If you’re an experienced mompreneur or you’re just starting out, you have heard about blogging and you know it’s something you need to do, if you’re not already doing it. However, there are ways to run a successful blog that you’ll want to consider whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been running a blog for a while.

Learn from Joel Spolsky, who built a very successful blog and business, called Joel on Software.

Read the entire article here…

Recently, I have had the opportunity to talk with several moms who are in the process of starting their own business. Like me, they want to be able to create their own hours and work on projects that really inspire them. Even though each of the moms I talked to had different business plans and areas of focus, the one thing that was common among all was the feeling of overwhelm they have when it comes to creating their online presence. Of course, that challenge is not specific to mompreneurs. I think every small-to-midsize business owner feels that same sense each and every day.

One mom asked me pointedly “How Do I Learn All This Stuff?”. That is a great question, and my answer is “You don’t.” It’s not possible to learn and know it all, and as a business owner, you don’t need to. You DO need to have a general sense of what’s going on in the world of social media and marketing, but you do not need to become an expert in all of the specifics. You also DO need to have a clear plan (with the caveat that it will need to be somewhat flexible because things will change as you learn and grow in your business).

Read more …

Our Web Savvy Mom this month is Traci Bisson, owner of The Mom Entrepreneur, a company that offers tips, advice and resources for balancing motherhood and running a company. In this interview, Traci shares with us her insights about how to build a successful online following and what it takes to be feel successful in the fast-paced world of social media and marketing. Thanks for your guidance, Traci! Listen to entire interview here…

Michael Stelzner just announced on his site, SocialMediaExaminer.com, the 2010 Winners of the Top 10 Social Media Blogs. This is a great list of blogs, written by experts in social media. Check it out and use this list to add to your resource library.

Top 10 Social Media Blogs – The 2010 Winners | Social Media Examiner.

As a small-to-midsize business owner, it can be very challenging to keep up with the infinite ways to market your business online. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock somewhere, you know that Facebook is huge and, as a business owner, you need to have a presence there and start using it to get the word out about your products and services. That being said, there is a bit of finesse required if you want to use Facebook appropriately and engage the audience on which you are focused. Read more…

Calling all Mompreneurs. Check out this fun and exciting contest for Mompreneurs. Sponsored by The Mom Entrepreneur and Corporate Mom DropOuts, “The Business Baby Shower is a contest to celebrate entrepreneurial moms and all they do to birth and grow a successful company while balancing family life.” Read more about the contest here and enter for your chance to win…

As a business owner, it’s important to continuously find new ways to market your business. Obviously, the web provides limitless possibilities to do this and new ways of doing this are being created everyday.

Here’s an article that describes how to use Wikipedia to promote your business. Word of caution: be sure to read the list of 9 ways to help you succeed because it’s not about logging in and promoting yourself (a common mistake I see across all social media outlets). Read full article…

Looking to bolster your writing skills? Want more experience writing about the web, social media, marketing and other fun topics for mompreneurs? We’re looking for guest writers, so if you’re interested, contact us at mom@websavvymoms.com with the Subject Line: Guest Writer

My colleagues at Geek for Hire, Inc. recently sent out an update to remind us all about the importance of changing our passwords on a regular basis. In referencing a recent question posed in The New York Times entitled “Password Unprotected“, Geek for Hire reminds us all to change our passwords regularly and make sure to change them to something that is not easy to guess. Read more…

This Thanksgiving, I hope you are able to be with the people you love and take time to appreciate the wonderful gifts in your life. And, if you’re a mom in business and you’re already successful, then congratulations and I wish you continued success. If you’re a mom that is new in business or you’re struggling right now, then I just want to say to you — Hang in there. Keep going. Don’t give up and hold onto your dreams and goals. They can happen if you stay focused and believe that they can. Read more…

Have you heard of PageRank™ but you’re not sure what it is. Are you like me and at first glance, you assumed it was just how high your page comes up in search results? Well, guess again. When I got “schooled” in PageRank, frankly, I was surprised by what I didn’t know. So, I thought I’d share some of what I’ve learned over time with you.

Read entire post here…

Here’s some interesting information about how much women are using the social web. If you’re a mom business owner and you target other women in your marketing efforts, this is great information to have. And, in general, it’s important to see the trends among users and how they are using the latest social media sites out there.

Read the full report here:
Women Rule the Social Web.

This month, I had the privilege of interviewing two inspirational young mompreneurs and I’m excited to share the interview with you. Kate Windram and Tara Shagawat, co-owners of Baby Smartz Baby Planners LLC spoke with me and shared some powerful insights about starting and running a business and leveraging the internet and social media to expand.

I think you’ll enjoy this interview as much as I did. I know that I walked away with a lot of great information and advice on how to expand my business online. Thanks, ladies!

Listen to the entire interview here…

Mashable and the American Express OPEN Forum regularly have useful articles on blogging and other industry tips and techniques. Here’s one from today that talks about ways to improve your blog and increase traffic. Enjoy! Read full article here:
5 Winning Post Ideas for Your Small Business Blog .

For example, we just upgraded our database and software on our servers and in the process, we lost A LOT of data (even though we backed up exactly the way we were supposed to). So, sometimes things happen that we can’t control. Please be patient as we restore all of the information on our site [...]

This is a question I get asked a lot. Most people are familiar with Facebook as a tool to network and reconnect with old school friends or colleagues. However, most people are still learning the ropes on how to use Facebook as a tool to promote your business. I’ll be sharing more information on this topic over time, but in the meantime, here’s an article by Susan Payton that provides some basic steps to getting started: HOW TO: Set Up a Winning Facebook Fan Page.

Mari Smith, a social media guru, wrote a great post on how to succeed in social media and social networking. Check it out at: Social Media Success – 15 Hot Tips From The Pied Piper! | MariSmith.com.

Each week, Mashable publishes a list of conferences and events. This list is a great way to keep up-to-date on conferences and events where you can learn from top experts on the latest trends. See the list here: Mashable’s Weekly Social Media Conference & Event Guide.