The federal government is pouring money in to several initiatives to rejuvenate the economy. This is creating many new opportunities for consultants. It certainly helps to have a small business certification, but it's not required. Following are several key resources you should explore to find out how you can tap into the Recovery Act funds. Read more...

Every year, Women in Consulting (WIC) conducts its compensation survey. And every year, we get rave reviews about how this survey helps consultants benchmark their individual practices against those of the most successful consultants. Not only do the results inspire participants to do something a little different to grow their businesses further, but local and Read more...

General Motors eliminated the Pontiac nameplate  this week. This set me to thinking about core versus non-core business. To eliminate an icon is a tough decision for any business at any time - when GM is clearly fighting for its survival in a shrunken U.S. auto industry, it had to be very difficult.  I grew Read more...

Google has a relatively new tool that allows you to create a profile that may start appearing on page one of Google searches almost immediately. In fact, my profile appeared at the bottom of page one right after publishing. Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter still appear at the top, as will your own site (hopefully!); but Read more...

Ann Handley, editor in chief of MarketingProfs (a WIC partner) posted an article on Mashable about a Twitter survey conducted by MarketingProfs. It's worth the read, but then again, I'm biased. It was nice to see I'm not the only one who: Doesn't follow everyone who follows me, and doesn't expect everyone I follow to Read more...

I tend to stay away from self-promoting on blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc. It's just not my thing -- probably because I really dislike hard sells. And as a board member of Women in Consulting (WIC), responsible for its marketing & PR no less, writing a piece on "why I love WIC" is considered self-promotion. However, Read more...

If you’ve read my previous recap/intro to Twitter, and I’ve got your attention -- read on, this post will help you quickly get up to speed. UI design of social media tools is a point of hot contention. Both Twitter and Facebook have been heavily criticized for the lack of clarity and consistency in their Read more...

I love Mack Collier's "Social Media Ain't About One-Night Stands, It's About Relationships" post on The Viral Garden. It's short and sweet, with a couple of good examples to underscore his point. I love it, though, because of the key point he drives home: social media is about communicating. As many of you may notice, Read more...

This is the second part of my recap of the EBWIBR Social Media Luncheon that I attended on Friday, April 3rd. I learned quite a bit in the two presentations given by Nancy Friedman of WordWorking and Kelly Parkinson of Copylicious. It was obvious both presenters had far more to say about Twitter and LinkedIn Read more...

Nice little post by Joel Postman at Socialized PR offers seven rules for establishing a corporate presence on Twitter: Create a Twitter profile that helps people verify your legitimacy Let consumers know who they're talking to Empower your Twitter representative to make a difference Protect consumer information Include your social media affiliations on your corporate website Read more...