(This should really read: Start a multi-million dollar business while on the toilet and make your first million before flushing-TODAY!)

Entrepreneur is a pretty cool magazine. I should know because I subscribe. However, I sometimes find myself really annoyed reading the articles. Just the other day I finally stopped to analyze why and came up with two main reasons:

1. Everything is sugarcoated. Perhaps that’s what sells, but I enjoy hearing more about the trials and tribulations of entrepreneurs and how they overcame the odds to succeed. Instead, the magazine writes articles something like this: Jane Doe always had a passion for dogs and after working ___ years in ___industry, decided to strike out on her own. In 2004, Doe invested $50,000 of her own money and put daily expenses on her credit cards. She convinced Wal-Mart, Pet Smart, and Target to order her products and sales have reached $20 million this year with expected 2009 sales of $30 million. Yeah. Right. Who really believes that it’s this easy? Does anyone else care about the missing sentences?
2. The second reason why Entrepreneur annoys me is because they never tell you HOW TO DO IT. Yes, I want the steps no matter how bloody the ladder to entrepreneurial success may be. I’m the type of person who gets fed up with fantasy and wants the dirty, nasty, gory, and sometimes boring details of how Jane Doe’s business grew from an investment of $50,000 to a gorgeous $24 million. Every single issue they promise to divulge the “secrets” to success or being a millionaire at 30 and instead I’m always met with disappointment.

When will Entrepreneur give me what I want? Probably never. They know that sugarcoated surface fantasy sells. Disney has done a great job with this and Entrepreneur is doing the same. One of these years I’ll stop subscribing…unless, of course, they decide to feature ME as a success story! Or I can do some freelance work for them.

(I hope someone from Entrepreneur is reading this post… HINT, HINT, HINT!)

Photo Credit

I know I touched on this subject a few weeks back, but I feel a very strong urge to bring it up again and reiterate my point. My inbox is still overloaded!

I don’t think I can take it anymore! I just received YET ANOTHER weekly e-news letter from YET ANOTHER business.

I can’t stand it. I can’t unsubscribe fast enough. These small business owners think they are so “in” just because they do email marketing. The reality is that their weekly newsletters could easily be monthly updates, but no, they prefer harassing us on a weekly basis. The majority of newsletters that find their way into my inbox don’t ever see the light of day. They are immediately deleted. I can only handle so much email per day. It makes me grumpy.

The issue really is that nine out of ten people never ask if I would mind being added to their mailing list. Just because you meet someone at a networking event and have their information doesn’t give you carte blanche to spam them on a regular basis. The other annoying issue is when I receive regular business updates from people that I followed up with after an event who never bothered to personally return the gesture. This leads me to believe that they really don’t care about building relationships, just their database.

Does email marketing really work, especially if people like me are receiving dozens of newsletters a week and growing? The main people being marketed to are the small business owners who pay monthly fees for these services. I won’t name companies, we all know who they are and I’ve mentioned it before.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not a bad thing to do email marketing, but please treat fellow small business owners as you would like to be treated. Make the emails you send really count and ask people before automatically adding them to your list.

I’m stepping off my soap box for the day, but you haven’t heard the end of this!

I’ve never had much of an interest in fish. I can identify koi, goldfish, and find Nemo. That’s about the extent of my fish identification. After my ability to identify these three fish, I know even less about their care. I learned at a young age that you can’t overfeed goldfish, take their picture using a flash, or set them loose to live in a swimming pool.

Koi on the other hand have always caught my eye. There are some koi so large, it appears as though they have lived for a century longer than my pet goldfish. Other than admiring these majestic fish in ponds around the world, I have never bothered to learn more about these amazing creatures. In fact, I never would have imagined I’d be using koi and entrepreneur in the same sentence!

If these fish were human, they’d be true entrepreneurs. Here’s why:

ENERGETIC. The Japanese consider Koi to be the most energetic of all fish. They never stop moving and are in constant motion.

NON-CONFORMIST. Koi aren’t afraid to be independent. They don’t follow anyone else, instead choosing their own path throughout their lives.

STRENGTH AND FORCE. Koi must possess these characteristics in order to swim against the current and not be influenced by others. Koi are known to overcome whatever obstacles are in their way and come out ahead.

Do these characteristics sound familiar? I’m talking about you!

Don’t let this happen to you in business.

Do you ever have one of those days? Last Friday I felt shaken like a martini. Shaken very hard and definitely not carefully stirred. Friday was one of those days where, if I had actually had an opportunity to blog what was on my mind, I would have said the following: NEVER GO INTO THE SERVICE INDUSTRY LADIES.

Glad I waited. My thinking is clear now. An entrepreneur’s life is like a roller coaster. There are twists, turns, ups, downs, and upside downs. Sometimes all in the same friggin day. The reality is that whether or not you’re in the service industry, it really does not matter. No matter what business you run and how, if you remember that entrepreneurship is a roller coaster…it’ll help. In fact, if you ever consider going out and getting a “real job” (aka: working for someone else), know that it’s not necessarily going to be any better. You’ll have to deal with an actual boss, not just demanding clients. Personally, I don’t need that because I put enough pressure on myself as it stands.

The day started out perfectly strange and I’m not sure where my action packed day went. Quite frankly, nobody wants to hear the boring details. Let’s just say at the end of the day, I poured myself a gently stirred martini at 6pm and made a list of lessons learned for the day. My cocktail napkin looks somewhat like this:

1. Charge more. I need to be making more for all the demands and subsequent hours spent on said hassles.
2. Definitely raise my prices.
3. Review my contract terms and conditions. No wiggle room.
4. Redefine limits.

What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger. It’s a new week with new lessons learned or redefined. Happy Monday Diva Moguls!

Feeling stuck in your job? Do you have a dream job but wish you could test out the career before making a life-altering decision?  Vocation Vacations is here to help, ladies! Even the most secure Diva Moguls could use a Vocation Vacation.

What is a Vocation Vacation? It’s experiencing another career for several days. It’s giving you a taste of your dream job. It’s deciding whether or not you want to make a life-altering career and lifestyle change. This Vocation Vacations is perfect for Diva Moguls who don’t have a lot of extra time on their hands.

From Alpaca Rancher to Sword Maker to Wine Bar Owner, Vocation Vacations has every career you can and can’t imagine.

Let’s pretend I was thinking about being a Cheese Maker for a living. Well, I can sign up with Vocation Vacations to work at Beecher’s Cheese in Seattle, WA for a day of one-on-one mentoring and learn everything from pasteurizing to aging cheese. The price for this day runs just over $500, a small price to pay to sample your dream career.

Perhaps Vocation Vacations sound cheesy, but they are lot cheaper than making the wrong career decision!

Check out their website and see if anything catches your eye.

It’s a whole new world for business owners. Using an airline flight will no longer be an excuse to disconnect from the world. Does this excite you or infuriate you?

For American Airlines customers flying from New York to San Francisco, Los Angeles, or Miami in-flight Internet service is now officially available for $12.95 per flight. Now you or the person next to you can check email, surf the net, and instant message…from 30,000 feet.

American Airlines hopes to make this service available on most flights. Not surprisingly, American is looking at this as a money making opportunity and a chance to off-set high fuel costs. For the remainder of the year, MultiMedia Intelligence predicts the in-flight broadband to bring in $6.6 million and by 2012…sit down…$936 million. And after 2012, this Diva Mogul is predicting broadband access at 30,000 feet to become a multibillion dollar industry. No small sum.

In the upcoming months, SouthWest and Delta both have plans to provide the same service to their customers.

While I’m a Diva Mogul who supports entrepreneurship and business, I also appreciate quiet time and disconnecting from the world. Before we know it, we will be sitting next to executives and sales managers having loud video conference calls in surrounding seats. Is this your idea of a pleasant flight?

View the Yahoo! News video “Surf the web at 30,000 feet”.

Have a nice flight!

To be productive, keep your eye on the target

1.    Don’t think, just do. Unless you are a lawyer (and even if you were), nobody wants to pay you for that quarter hour of thinking in the shower. Thinking, thinking, and thinking will waste your valuable time. Especially when it comes to customer projects. Sure, I have my brainstorming sessions about what I’m going to do and map out my steps ahead of time but then I do the task. It’s as simple as that. Time is money and money is time. Don’t waste either.
2.    Establish billing days and times. Decide from the very beginning how you are going to do your billing. Will you bill upon project completion or will you wait until the 15th of every month to bill or the 1st? Whatever you decide, stick to it and make sure your clients do as well. You are a small business without a large accounting department backing you up, so make life easy and do what works.
3.    Don’t let anything or anyone distract you. Don’t pick up that phone. Next time the phone rings, check the caller ID. If you don’t have caller ID, get it. Phone calls from family or friends, as much as we love them, waste work time. Wouldn’t you rather leave your desk earlier to spend quality time with them later?

These two starlets appear to be the epitome of dumb and blond, but when you look at the larger picture there’s no doubt these celebrities are actually Diva Moguls. Here’s why:

JESSICA SIMPSON-

1. “Newlyweds”: From the “platy-pus” incident to the “chicken or fish” puzzle, it’s the show that had everyone buzzing about the dumb blond singer with the big chest. Simpson spotted this career opportunity early on and as a result, became a household name and skyrocketed to fame. Her fortune also significantly increased thanks to publicity and increased popularity.
2. Building on her “Newlyweds” fame, Jessica quickly launches her own “Desserts” cosmetics line with dessert smelling lip-gloss and other fragrant beauty products.
3. No career would be complete without your own clothing line. Simpson hawks her own clothes and accessories including jeans and shoes.

Blond? Yes. Diva Mogul? Yes.

PARIS HILTON-

1. Much like Jessica Simpson, if Hilton wasn’t already known in houses across America, she became infamous on her own reality television show called “The Simple Life.” Already touted as a party girl, Hilton attempted to convince readers that, she too, could mix with regular folk.
2. Paris capitalized on her fame by launching perfume lines including “Paris Hilton” and “Heiress” and “Just Me.”
3. A famous party girl, Hilton famously gets paid hundreds of thousands of dollars just to show up at parties and nightclub openings around the world.

Blond? Yes. Diva Mogul? Yes.

Like them or not, Jessica and Paris are great examples of building brands and business empires. Think about your brand, creating a buzz, and building an empire.

What is the problem many entrepreneurs and start-up companies face? You guessed it, lack of funding.

Don’t we all wish we had an unlimited budget for launching our products or services? I know I do…and I know exactly what I would do with a bottomless pocket. I’ve already mapped it out. Unfortunately, I’m a pessimist and don’t think I’ll win the lottery today or tomorrow. Actually, that would make me a realist since I haven’t ever purchased a ticket. But, that’s not my point. My point is that as entrepreneurs on a budget, we need to think creatively about how we market.

I’m currently reading a book by Mark Hughes called “Buzzmarketing: Getting people to talk about your stuff.” Interesting book. Interesting concepts. Hughes is the man behind Half.com. With almost no marketing budget, Half.com went from zero visitors to over three million in less than three years under his wing. Hughes is a mastermind at low to no cost marketing. The book also covers the real marketing stories behind tie-dye, Coca-cola vs. Pepsi, Britney Spears, and Miller Light just to name a few.

Fuel your mind. Read this book.

What is your business doing to create buzz?

Toyota Prius:
This car lets the world know you care on every level. Not only do you care about your business, but you are concerned about how you are personally impacting the environment. The Prius is practical, good looking, and will save you major gas money down the road. This car is great for Diva Moguls who have to travel to appointments without cargo.

Prius Diva Mogul Personality: Aware & practical

Mercedes-Benz SLK-class:
This car communicates that you are a successful Diva Mogul. Fast, sleek, and with a price tag to match the image…you’ll capture that attention you love. The SLK-class convertible is perfect for financial advisors and those Diva Moguls who are in the latter stages of business development. Buying a car like this too soon could be the kiss of business death.

SLK Diva Mogul Personality: Fun & trendy

Honda CR-V:
This car is for practical Diva Moguls who desire more space. For an SUV, the CR-V gets good gas mileage while allowing business owners to transport necessary materials to clients or trade shows. This car is perfect for Diva Moguls who have to carry a load while managing a family.

CR-V Diva Mogul Personality: Busy & hands-on