Dr. Don Yates is a Platinum author on EvanCarmichael.com – to view his articles click here.  Dr. Don won one of our monthly contests – we asked him a few questions about his business, here is what he said:

Why did you start your business?

Most of my businesses were started out of motivation to get more out of life than what was on my plate.  By that, I mean

a.      Get out of the slums, improve my life

While others were in gangs griping about their situation, happy doing nothing or just looking for trouble.

I found it easier to do something about it.  Others had birthdays, Christmas and such, I did not so I worked; bought my own clothes, food and my first bicycle.

I learned from each job, saw how others were doing things, and figured out what was missing or needed and started my own business.  I analyzed each job and how to do it better

From this grew a passion for success, a motivation to keep learning and earning more and more

Some friends were moochers since I shared what I had, other learned from what I shared and helped in our mutual success.

b.      One job was never enough to live as I had seen others live.

When in school, work and or started business before and after school

Started and expanded newspaper routes for before and after school, on foot till I earned enough for a bicycle, learned to repair bicycles, cleaned restaurant parking lots before school, workdays start at 3am and end at 10pm

Gardener Business, Painting Business

When dropped out of school

Organized a group of teens to provide delivery services in Boston’s Garment District, learn piecework to make ladies shoes, piecework to kill and cut fast freeze Jewish Kosher Chickens

Gardener Business, Painting Business

When in the military worked or start businesses afterhours to supplement my low income

Bartender, 7-Elevan, Gas Stations, learned auto mechanics; started first mechanic on wheels provided road service and supplemented gasstation mechanics

c.      Creativity, doingsomething others only thought about

d.      Finding alternativesolutions to doing a particular business

e.      No Fear, loved the Challenge

Current business as Author: The Internet Users Handbook and Founder: The Internet Scams Anonymous (ISA) Groups grew out of my experiences on the internet.  As a retired, successful entrepreneur use to working 12-16 hours per day, boredom set in as a retiree. I had been on the internet since the introduction of email, but never sought to make a living from it.  Offline, I had seen first-hand nearly every scam related to financial service available, but Online I had no idea as to what to expect. Offline I taught my clients how to do Due Diligence for a number of different ventures.  Online was so easy, that doing due diligence never even crossed my mind

The ridiculous claims prevailed, so I tried one after another so see how theses scams worked, how they responded, what twist and turns they pulled to get even more money out of the scam.  It was fascinating watching and encouraging these scammers, it became a game for me, although I always lost the game.

I researched a number of scams, and then researched what was being done about helping others avoid such claims.  While a number of sights focused on assorted type of scam, no one provided the big picture of how to do business online while learning to recognize and avoid the scams.  At the same time research showed the growth of the internet and the motivations for the newbies coming online seeking a fast cure to some type of financial ailment

After nearly 2 years and $50,000 or more in scam research (losses), I saw a need; a niche and my passion grew as I started writing my handbook, first published in 2009, and planning to form my first online scam avoidance group in February 2010

How did you find your first customer?

Frankly I don’t remember my first customer as I start doing thing on my own nearly 65 years ago.  However, getting more customers was easy, since my work was based on my personal satisfaction with the job,  I always had higher expectations of myself thanmy customers, before long my reputation proceeded me and the referrals keptcoming.  Finding work was easy since I had more offers than time.

Iput up a website and started promoting my online business groups and the handbook.  My first book sale was a joy and I was rewarded with a great testimonial from a seasoned online professional to help validate my work.

Mypassion continued to grow to write a better handbook and to form more groups.

What was the hardest challenge you had to overcome with your business?

Probably learning and preparing to do all the jobs related to a particular business, Entrepreneurs often start by doing all the jobs, before they can hire or outsource some of the work

All my businesses were bootstrapped, no capital, so perhaps capital

Online, my challenges were getting use to doing business differently than offline, new terminology, advertising techniques,  getting traffic and branding myself, groups and the handbook as a resource for other online users,

While you were starting your business, what was your motivational drive that made you work hard?

A passion for success in all things, improve living conditions for the family

A passion to help other learn from my research and to avoid the scams while doing business online.

If you were to open up a new business in a different category what would it be and why?

After a dozen varieties of businesses, I would stick with my current business, a passion for helping other avoiding scams online while doing business.  Expand its capability, perhaps regional Scam Avoidance Business Centers, workshops, etc.  Prepare a 3nd, 3 volume edition.

Is there anything you’d like to share with our readers?

It is easy to see from the various headlines that anyone, at any level or private or governmental status offline or online can be scammed.  There are few Facebook’s, Twitter and the latest windfall to Instagrams around.

Building a business online is not really much different from that of offline.  All business have business risk, online the claims of overnight success are found in your daily mail,  Claims of 2%, 5, 7% or more per day HYIP are prevalent.

While scam and spam seem to rule the internet, you can reduce your risk by doing something that you love and/or are passionate about. Do your own due diligence online – check before you buy.  Never invest more that you can afford to lose.  And as the saying goes, If it sound too good to be true – it probably is not notrue.

Follow your instincts, not your emotions.  Scammer are master salesmen – they know you next thought before you can think it.

About Dr. Don Yates:

Author Internet Users Handbook, 2012, 2nd Edition (Full Version) - A Comprehensive Guide to Avoiding Scams Online While Doing Business.

The handbook is also available Internet Users Handbook, 2012, 2nd (Free Articles and Downloads)

Founder: The Internet Scams Anonymous (ISA) Groups

Forex, Investment Adviser, Business Entrepreneur, Mentor, Coach, Adviser

MBA, PhD Organizational Development and Human Behavior, Dissertation”Top Performers”

Former US Navy (enlisted and officer) 17 years, 2 sons in Desert Storm

Founding President/CEO/Broker La Jolla Newport Financial, Procomp Computer Services, Inc and Investment Quality Real Estate ((IQ), La Jolla California and Incline Village (Lake Tahoe), Nevada 1/1/1981. Bootstrapped $137 into $15 million plus. International Financial Adviser/Consultant for business, commercial and real estate development

Top Civilian for Aircraft Maintenance on the Staff of Commander US Pacific Fleet. Business Entrepreneur, Founder, Chairman, Director, CEO, President of a dozen successful ventures since age 8

Business Adviser, Mentor and Coach for start-up and existing growth companies.

Thomas J Madden is a Platinum author on EvanCarmichael.com – to view his articles click here.  We asked him how he got his first customer, here is what he said:

HOW I GOT MY FIRST CUSTOMER, A LITTLE OLE LADY NAMED ‘MA BELL’

I was sitting in my office on the sixth floor at NBC overlooking the famous ice skating rink when my assistant said there was someone from AT&T on the phone who sounded upset.

“Okay, I’ll take the call,” I told Donna and soon I was speaking to one of AT&T’s head  sales guys who said he was getting a run around and could I please put him in direct touch with someone who could make decisions about phone lines.

At the time, I held the august position of Vice President, Assistant to the President, of NBC, who was then TV wunderkind Fred Silverman.  For a turbulent and heady period back in the early 80s, I was his right hand, and for a brief time, the #2-ranked executive at the network.

The guy from AT&T sounded frustrated, so I promised to make some calls and have someone in authority get back to him. I learned early in my career to be nice to large companies, especially conglomerates as gratitude in high places can get you snap, crackly and pop.

Actually a couple years prior, I was a celebrated speechwriter, who had written a few speeches for Bill LaMothe, then chairman of Kellogg Company.  They blasted the government for trying to bust up the three leading breakfast cereal companies, which the government charged was an oligopoly.  When one of my speeches was published in The New York Times, LaMothe was so impressed he flew from Battle Creek, MI to Manhattan in his private jet to show me a good time. Expecting he’d take me to 21 Club, I was surprised when he invited me next morning to the Palace Hotel . . . for breakfast.

So wanting to please AT&T, I made a few calls as I had promised and frankly forgot all about it.  Then a few weeks later, I got a call (no emails then) from the same guy, only this time he sounded elated.  He said that thanks to me, one of the top guys in communications had gotten back to him, they worked everything out, and he most grateful to me for my help in interceding.  He said if I ever needed anything, just give him a call.

Some months later, I left NBC to start my own public relations firm, TransMedia Group, in New York City.  This was around time Ma Bell was undergoing a traumatic court-ordered divestiture of all of her operating companies.

The company was in dire straits back then and needed crisis management big time.  Then I thought of the grateful AT&T guy, called him and offered my services to the beleaguered Ma Bell.

“Got it,” he said.  “I’ll get right back to you.”

A few days later I received a call from Herb Lennon, Director of Public Relations, for AT&T at their mother ship in Bedminster, New Jersey.   Herb invited to come out to meet with him at the main offices.  He said he would introduce me to the top brass at AT&T, including then Chairman Charley Brown, who started at AT&T climbing telephone poles and had climbed clear to the top of corporate America.

Excited, as I had no clients yet, I drove to Bedminster to meet with the top people at AT&T in Advertising and PR and they said they would like to retain me to book Charley Brown on all the top network shows to discuss AT&T’s future after divestiture.

They asked what fee I would like and I blurted out something ridiculous in six figures and they said that would be fine and asked if I could start right away.

So that’s how TransMedia Group landed its first customer, a whale of a client, the largest company in America at the time, which was soon to be diced and sliced, but my job would be to help the company weather the storm and put the best face possible on the situation, which I proceeded to do.

After I did a pretty good job on the divestiture story, the company assigned me other divisions to publicize, including international calling and the new AT&T Cell Phone, which at that time was the size of a brick.

Today if you go to our website at www.transmediagroup.com, you’ll see under client references this endorsement from AT&T:

“Smartest thing I ever did was to retain TransMedia for public relations.” Signed: Herb Lennon, Director of Public Relations, AT&T.

About Thomas J Madden:

Tom Madden is the founder and CEO of TransMedia Group, one of the world’s leading independent PR firms serving clients worldwide since 1981.  He has held top executive positions at ABC and NBC,where he was Vice President, Assistant to the President, then Fred Silverman. For his exploits in broadcasting and PR, he has been profiled in Time Magazine, Forbes and The Wall Street Journal. Speeches he wrote have been reprinted in The New York Times and Vital Speeches of the Day. Among awards he has received are a “Bronze Anvil” from The Public Relations Society of America. He is the author of SPIN MAN and King of the Condo.  email: TMadden@transmediagroup.com 561-750-9800 Ext: 211

Here is an interview with author Michael Dalton Johnson – we asked him a few questions about his new book Rules of the Hunt, here is what he said:

What was the inspiration to help you write Rules of the Hunt?

Writing this book has been near the top of my bucket list for years. I have seen many entrepreneurs with great ideas who fail, despite understanding the big business picture, because they lacked day-to-day business knowledge and skills. This, in part, inspired me to write Rules of the Hunt. I don’t claim the book to be a road map to instant business success. However it will give readers small advantages that will make their hunt for business success more rewarding and in many ways easier.

What are the major themes of the book?

Since there are well over 200 rules which stand alone without reference to another, this book doesn’t really develop themes. The general topics these rules address include leadership, relationships, sales and marketing, foresight, and survival.

How would you describe Rules of the Hunt?

A friendly book of advice on ways to improve one’s business game. (And, in the end, business is just a game.) It’s written as if for an intelligent yet uninformed friend. The book has no academic pretensions and offers no “business religion” to join.

What is the most important lesson that entrepreneurs will learn from reading this book?

Of the many lessons, the greatest one is on what is required to be an effective leader. I advise those who would lead to first take complete responsibility for all outcomes. I teach the most powerful secret there is for motivating people which is not to tell others what to do but to tell them who they are.

What did you learn from writing this book?

That the mentor often learns more than the student and that after 30 years of successful entrepreneurship I still have things to learn. I learned a lot of those things in writing Rules of the Hunt.

What is your writing process like? Do you make an outline or do you just start writing?

I like to joke that I wrote the book in just 25 years. That’s how long I made entries of my business observations in a journal. When I decided to write the book I had nearly 1,000 entries and the job then was to pick the best of these and loosely organize them into a book format. Sounds easy until you realize the journal entries were written strictly for me and now had to be expanded and clarified for book readers. Fortunately my editor at McGraw Hill had a lot of patience.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

While semi-retired I still run two commercial web sites. I like to read and travel. I do a little pro bono work as a mentor to young people. One of my guilty pleasures is poker. My greatest joy is playing with my grand kids.

Are there any new writing projects that you are looking into? If so, can you share them with us?

My publisher has suggested a volume two of Rules of the Hunt but I’m not certain about doing it.

If you were writing a book about your life, what would be the title?

Shooting the Moon: An improbable journey through business and life.

About Michael Dalton Johnson:

Michael Dalton Johnson is a successful entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience!  He is the founder of SalesDog.com – a marketing website for sales professionals, marketers and business owners.  Michael has also written other books such as Top Dogs Sales Secrets and Top Dog Recession – Busting Sales Secrets.  To learn more about Rules of the Hunt please go to: http://www.rulesofthehunt.com

Stan Prokop is the founder of 7 Park Avenue Financial. The firm specializes in business financing for Canadian companies in the areas of working capital, asset based lending, SR & ED tax credit financing, equipment financing, and banking.  Stan won one of our monthly contests – we asked him a few questions about SBL (Small-Business Loans), here is what he said:

What are some suggestions to get a Small Business Loan?

To answer the question indirectly, we’re big fans of the Boy Scout movement. By that we mean that being prepared is critical when it comes to a Small Business Loan application. And just to clarify, we’re talking about the Government of Canada Small business loan, whose formal name is the BIL / CSBF loan. Sorry for all the acronyms.

But getting back to our suggestions Canadian business owners can significantly increase chances of final approval by understanding the key offerings of the program , putting together what we call a solid ‘ package ‘ ( by the way it’s not rocket science) and understanding the types of issues that might come up in the process and how to address them .

Don’t be concerned about the ‘government ‘aspect of the program – they underwrite and monitor the program but designated local financial institutions are the facilitators of your loan.

How do you crack the SBL loans code and get a fast approval?

Most customers are shocked when we advise them we can get them an approval for a Government Small business loan in a matter of days. One of the reasons is they have already spent months trying to accomplish the same thing!  . But our real point here is that it’s the work that goes into the transaction up to the presentation point that most business owners find frustrating.  At the end of the day there are only  6 or 7 key requirements in a proper package , and knowing how to address those points will guarantee almost every applicant success if they can meet the general criteria .

We would point out that if you don’t work with a supportive and street smart banker of advisor on your transaction you might well be doomed from the beginning. Not all parties that can provide the loan have the same interest in the type of transaction you are trying to achieve. We have met certain lenders under the program who view their own process internally as too cumbersome or time consuming to in fact process your application properly.

Exploring SBL loans, what are the cans and cant’s of business improvement loans?

That’s a good question because there is a lot of misinformation about the program.  Many applicants might think the funds can be used for working capital, or inventory purchases, etc. That’s not the case. There are only three items that can be financed under the program – they are:

Equipment

Leaseholds

Real Estate

By the way, if you firm either have, or projects revenues over 5 million dollars you are unable to apply for the program. I guess that’s the definition of ‘small ‘then when it comes to the SBL.  We would point out also that a lot of SBL’s are for start ups and franchises. Clearly business financing in Canada when its not under the SBL program is very difficult if your firm is new, pre revenue, or experiencing  financial losses, etc .

Would you recommend a SBL? Why or why not?

We at 7 Park Avenue Financial constantly recommend the program to clients who are suitable candidates for the program.  Where else can you get financing that’s similar in pricing to what larger more established firms get – with benefits that even the big boys can’t achieve? For example a properly structured SBL has no prepayment penalties and only requires a 25% personal guarantee on your borrowing. Try and get that outside the program and call us if you’re successful!  We’re not personally convinced the SBL is the right vehicle for a commercial real estate acquisition, but it’s certainly there if you need it.

If the business owner has poor personal credit or government tax arrears the program is absolutely not for them and we would not recommend consideration of this method of financing.

How does a business owner know if he/she should apply for a SBL?

We’re got a simple answer for a good question. If your firm needs equipment, leasehold improvements, or you are considering a real estate transaction how could you not consider the program? It has solid rates, terms, and structures otherwise not achievable for many businesses without the government guarantee.

When is the right time for a business owner to apply for a SBL?

Currently the program caps out at 350,000.00 for equipment and leaseholds and $ 500,000.00 for real estate. Given the challenges of the SME sector to achieve proper financing the SBL loan should always be considered if your company is within the revenue range we mentioned and can satisfy some very basic requirements under the program.  While we all might have out opinions on what the government does or is doing for business and the economy the reality is that in the last year or so  almost 8000 businesses  got their share of several billion dollars of financing under the program.

To view Stan’s articles click here!

Sakita Holley was featured on our list of Top 100 Branding Experts to follow on Twitter – we asked her a few questions about Twitter, here is what she said:

How does your business benefit from using Twitter?

I’ve received a number of referrals, new business leads and speaking opportunities on Twitter for House of Success, the NY-based lifestyle branding firm that I founded.

So I would say that the biggest way that Twitter has helped my business is by providing a platform where I can share my perspective and expertise and gain credibility within the industry.

What do you tweet and how often do you do it?

I tweet about a wide variety of topics. Most people have separate twitter accounts for business and their personal life, but mine is all rolled up into one account (@MissSuccess). So at any moment, I can be talking about ways the luxury brand Balmain (who just joined Twitter) can best leverage the network, my favorite song lyrics, a recent PR gaffe that made the morning news, etc. It really runs the gamut and seamlessly transitions from business to personal all the time.

I’ve been twitter for more than three years and have almost 75k tweets. So, I guess you could say that I tweet a lot.

How has your Twitter strategy evolved?

As my audience on Twitter has grown, in both size and diversity of background, I find that I’ve been filtering more. I’m a bit more conscious of how and what I tweet.

For instance, I have friends, colleagues, clients and complete strangers in my audience and when I didn’t have as many followers, I could talk to my closest friends without using the @ symbol. But as you can imagine, that would become really confusing to the majority of the people that follow me, so I had to stop doing that.

Besides that, my strategy has pretty much remained the same: value your audience, be yourself and share relevant information.

What advice do you have for entrepreneurs who are trying to find the ROI in Twitter?

The first thing that I would say, is not to approach it as an ‘ROI’ situation. If they approach twitter, or any social network as if it’s a chore or a transaction, that’s all it will ever be and they probably won’t find much value in that.

With any new endeavor or platform, business owners should think about what their goals are and whether or not this platform is the right fit for those goals. They should also find a way to seamlessly make it a part of their daily routine, even if it’s just to send out a few tweets or updates per day, they need to jump right in and get active because that’s the only way to really learn how to best leverage the platform.

Another really important thing is to make sure you’re not in it for the instant gratification, because often there is none. Instead, focus on building your twitter or social networking strategies around your long-term goals.

I could talk about this all day, so if you’d like to learn more about how to best leverage Twitter for your business, feel free to email me at info@hos-pr.com.

About Sakita:

The HOS team is led by Sakita Holley. Sakita has amassed an impressive array of consumer, lifestyle, fashion, beauty and corporate communications experience over the years. Her inquisitive nature led to a fascination with the mechanics of brand building and the art of persuasion. This curiosity fueled her desire to one day be the chief architect or engineer of big name brands and innovative upstarts that test the status quo.

Sakita is passionate about revealing/activating a person’s hidden talents and strengths so that they can reach their dreams. Through her public relations work she has…

…helped individuals increase their visibility, reshape their personal brands and start/grow their own companies.

…equipped small business owners with the foundational tools and resources necessary to manage PR campaigns for their organizations.

…helped Fortune 100 companies sustain and grow market share, boost their thought leadership activity and increase media exposure for flagship research reports through the combined use of print, broadcast and social media.

…assisted students that are interested in PR get industry internships and jobs while also serving as a mentor.

Prior to launching House of Success, Sakita held various roles on account teams at Prudential Financial, Ogilvy PR Worldwide, Jade Dressler Communications, The Britto Agency and national non-profit Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. She graduated with honors and distinctions from Howard University.

To view Sakita’s website click here: http://hos-pr.com/

Stephanie Ramirez was featured on our list of Top 100 Franchise Experts to follow on Twitter – we asked her a few questions  about Twitter, here is what she said:

How does your business benefit from using Twitter? 

It’s an extension of our traditional forms of marketing.  The instant ability to see how and where your brand is being talked about is very beneficial.  We also benefit from building lists of influencers who tweet about us or retweet or content.

Do you have some specific examples you can share with us?  

We have found that following the Golden Rule works when it comes to Twitter.  We don’t just push content out.  We watch our influencer lists and share and retweet their content, a lot of which directly relates to what we do anyway.  We engage our followers by occasionally hosting twitter parties on certain topics and we offer raffles and giveaways from our corporate partners.  We also support our partners campaigns.

What do you tweet and how often do you do it?  

Because we are a franchise, we try and follow the simple, turn key programs and solutions we encourage our franchisees to use.  Here it is.  Aside from retweeting interesting content from people we follow at least once per day,  this is our general strategy.  Tweet 2 or 3 times a day.  Tweet something interesting or newsworthy from our industry, something non-business related that might be of interest or funny to our customers and something inspirational.  We sprinkle in a few call-to-action, shameless plugs to promote our business and offerings as well as our corporate partners. We also stay on top of responding to direct messages and @replies.

How has your Twitter strategy evolved? 

It’s evolved as we’ve learned more about how to use it and how other companies are using it.  Twitter was and is just one giant social media experiment.  Sometimes you just have to see what sticks.  Taking action and just digging is key.   Thankfully there are some great marketing folks that have pioneered some unique strategies and tactics and they write or speak about it.  I’ve gleaned a lot from Mark W. Schaefer’s book The Tao of Twitter and also The Digital Mom Handbook by Audrey McClelland and Colleen Padilla. I recommend either for anyone new to Twitter.

What advice do you have for entrepreneurs who are trying to find the ROI in Twitter?  

I would say it’s difficult to accurately evaluate that without a tool to measure engagement.  There are more and more companies offering programs that help you determine ROI from social media.  Some focus just on reach or number of tweets while others help you gauge general sentiment for your brand or business.  While some of these services are free, some can be very expensive.  I think it’s key to determine your objectives first then decide what the ROI for each objective is. Doing that will help someone figure out what tool will work best for them.  If you are just trying to see how it brings traffic to your company’s website, then Google Analytics is all you need.  If you are promoting a specific event or product and you want to see the full reach, you can generate a report on Tweetreach.com for a reasonable fee.   Then there are other really robust tools like Engage121 that allow you to view and monitor your brand or business’s true reach over the entire social web and create reports from all the data being evaluated.

About Stephanie:

Stephanie is a Marketing Director for Stroller Strides, LLC & former Knoxville franchise owner.  She loves helping others achieve greatness! Check out her website: http://www.strollerstrides.com

Shirley Fine Lee was featured on our list of Top 75 Productivity Experts to follow on Twitter – we asked her a few questions about Twitter – here is what she said:

1) How does your business benefit from using Twitter?

Using Twitter to communicate To Be Productive (2bproductive.blogspot.com) blog postings has increased the readership and resulted in clicks to the author’s websites and books.  More clicks can lead to increased business for the consultants writing on the blog as well as resulting in potential book sales.

2) Do you have some specific examples you can share with us?

I can view the blog analytics and see that Twitter is often one of the top referring sites for the blog.  I see the same type of results in the analytics for my own website (shirleyfinelee.com).  For book sales, I can see where the clicks that result in sales come from in an associates report, so I know which are from the blog.

3) What do you tweet and how often do you do it?

The blog posts are mostly related to business productivity, team building, and leadership.  As far as blog postings are concerned, we post once or twice a week and those titles and links are automatically sent to Twitter using TwitterFeed, so I do not have to check to see when another author besides me posts.  Then if I find out about an event, new book, or article I think our readers might be interested in, I will tweet the information or retweet it if the item came to my attention via Twitter.

4) How has your Twitter strategy evolved?

I started the Twitter account primarily to get readers for the blog.  It was an easy way to get the great posts our authors were sharing to the public.  I realized early on that I needed to do more than tweet to get noticed.  So I started following other Twitter accounts of bloggers and others who were interested in the type of topics we tweeted.  Plus I began to read lots of articles and books on social networking strategies to get better at using this media.  To make it easy to refer back to the best articles and also to recommend them to others, I added link list posts to the blog under the label Social Networks.  I am also very grateful to many of our Twitter followers for retweeting some of their favorite posts to their followers, which increases traffic to the blog as well.  I think making sure we post to the blog regularly and provide good content is the main reason they choose to retweet.

5) What advice do you have for entrepreneurs who are trying to find the ROI in Twitter?

I would advice patience.  I see too many accounts abandoned after a few months.  Patience is not only a virtue but it is a requirement for using any social media for business.  You will not see results immediately, especially if you choose to be random rather than regular in tweeting and passive instead of aggressive in getting followers.  I would advise determining what type of information you want to tweet and how often.  There are tools available for scheduling tweets into the future.  Then determine who you want to follow and wish to be followed by.  Think of following as a way to let others know you are now on Twitter.  Entrepreneurs can use Twellow to find Twitter accounts to follow by location (if local business) or by category (type of business or tweets).  In addition, they can add their Twitter account to the Twellow directory so other users can find them by location or category.  Twellow also allows a longer description for promotional purposes than what is given on Twitter.

About Shirley Fine Lee:

Shirley Fine Lee (a.k.a. The  Meeting Wizard) has been a Training and Development Specialist since 1986 and has experience in a variety of training and facilitation areas. She is a results oriented leader, who enjoys problem solving and working in a team atmosphere. Shirley has served in corporations as instructor, meeting facilitator, and change agent. She has trained thousands of  people and has developed several custom training interventions.

Shirley recently published her third book OPIE Project Planning and Implementation for Teams as aa Aamazon Kindle e-book.  Her previous book was T.A.P.P. Steps in Time Management.  Her first book was  R.A!R.A!  A Meeting Wizard’s Approach.  All books are based on units of her productivity training series and the books are available on www.Amazon.com.

Shirley has been given a corporation’s Quality Excellence and Customer Satisfaction awards. She is a member of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) where she writes articles and served as the 2006 Editor of the Dallas chapter newsletter and Webmaster.

Joan Ginsberg was featured on our list of Top 100 HR Experts to follow on Twitter – we asked her a few questions about Twitter – here is what she said:

1) How does your business benefit from using Twitter?

I benefit from Twitter both professionally and personally because Twitter opens me up to connections with all types of forward thinkers. I am a believer in the saying “Facebook is for people you used to know, Twitter is for people you want to know.”

2) Do you have some specific examples you can share with us?

I connected with China Gorman when she was the COO of SHRM. She has been an amazing person to know and has helped me grow both personally and professionally. I wouldn’t know her if not for Twitter. Laurie Reuttimann, a top HR blogger, was also an early Twitter connect. Now I am part of the HR Blogger Network for The Starr Conspiracy thanks to her.

3) What do you tweet and how often do you do it?

I mostly tweet links to great stuff I have read or I promote things I have written. I manage two other accounts besides my own personal account. I also live tweet conferences, webinars, etc., and I founded a monthly Twitter chat called #SHRMChat. I am on Twitter to one degree or another every day.

4) How has your Twitter strategy evolved?

When I first started tweeting, I spent hours upon hours on Twitter, watching feeds and responding. It fascinated me that I could have these types of conversations. But as time became an issue, I started following streams more selectively and participating only when I was really moved to do so. My strategy is to provide content and participate in conversation around that content as much as I can, maintaining my current connections and adding more high quality connections. But Twitter is not the only social media platform on which I am active so I have to divide my time wisely.

5) What advice do you have for entrepreneurs who are trying to find the ROI in Twitter?

My advice is to have a strategy up front. Are you trying to promote your personal brand? Are you trying to find people with similar professional or personal interests? Every ounce of time you spend on social media should be about trying to reach goals and objectives, even if those goals and objectives are about hobbies or leisurely interests. I have a daughter who uses Twitter only as a self-contained personal communication channel. That’s fine – for her. Another daughter is focused on the real-time, breaking news aspects of Twitter, but not much else. A summary of my advice would be to make it into what you need. The ability is there.