A. P. Designs

Free software list

2006-03-09T10:48:00.000-05:00

a list of good free software with descriptions and is kept updated.
From Freeware World Team

I dont have time to market

2006-03-08T14:08:00.000-05:00

It's a common complaint from self-employed professionals. When you are the only one who can serve the clients, manage the business, and perform all the sales and marketing functions, time becomes the most precious commodity you have. How can you find time for marketing with so many other important priorities?

Easy invoicing

2006-02-22T21:57:00.000-05:00

blinksale allows you to send payment reminders, track open, past-due, and closed invoices and add even add PayPal payment links to your invoices. If you need to send invoices, Blinksale should work for you.

via: smallbizblog.ca

Web content awareness day

2006-02-09T10:06:00.000-05:00

Today's the day.
Congratulations Dina on the new launch of your site Web Content Awareness Day.

Research tools for Entrepreneurs

2006-02-04T12:08:00.000-05:00

The Best Research Tools for Entrepreneurs
Visit the library or hop online, and the information you need is right under your nose.

Your local library (and librarian obviously) can be a tremendous asset to you in your search. Most good-sized libraries have online catalogs that can make your quest easier. But before you schlep to the library, I'd suggest you look for an online source—it saves time.
Continue reading...

How important is it to create a strong brand?

2006-02-01T16:40:00.000-05:00

USA Today

branding is about creating a desired impression in the minds of people. This is more important for small business than almost anyone else because there is so much competition out there. But if you are able to do it, the benefits are many.

A Tickler File For Sales And Networking

2006-02-01T14:38:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned earlier, I am old school when it comes to my organizational preferences. I still like to use pen and paper which is why I am so enthused about the technique in this article and hope some of you will find it helpful too.

A Tickler File For Sales And Networking
Author: Stephen Labuda

If you are involved in sales, fundraising or just an active
networker, you have probably tried a variety of tools to manage
your contact list and remind yourself to stay in touch with all
of the prospects and people you meet. This tickler file is
designed to be an inexpensive, effective, tool that can be used
by salespeople in a variety of different types of organizations.

This tickler file uses inexpensive index cards and a simple
file box. You will need the following items to create your own
index card sales tool. I found everything I needed at my local
office supply store. The total cost was around $25.00.

- A box to store the index cards
- Monthly 3" by 5" index tabs
- Daily (1-31) 3" by 5" index tabs
- Alphabetical 3" by 5" index tabs
- A ton of white ruled 3" by 5" index cards (you don't need a
photo, right?)
- A bunch of colored 3" by 5" index cards (pick your favorite
color)
- A small case to carry your in your pocket

Once you have purchased the required supplies, you can organize
your 3X5. For the sake of simplicity, let's assume that you are
assembling your 3X5 on January 1st. If this is the case you
would first organize your tabs in the order below (front to
back):

- January tab
- Daily tabs 1-31
- February - December monthly tabs
- A-Z alphabetical tabs
- Blank index cards - white and your favorite color

All of your cards should now be in the file box and the first
thing you should see is the January tab.

Next, you should start creating cards for your leads. In the
beginning, this is going to take some time (assuming you have a
lot of leads). You might choose to use one color card for
prospects, one color for customers, another for personal
contacts, etc. If you are not going to organize your contacts
by color, you will only need white cards. Nonetheless, you can
either copy your contacts information onto the cards or simply
staple their business card to one of the index cards.

The system works like this.

Let's imagine it is January 1st. and you attend a networking
event where you meet a potential client. You get this lead's
business card at the event and you want to contact him/her on
the 2nd., so when you get to your office, you staple the leads
business card to a white index card and drop it behind the "2"
tab and then go home for the day. After all, it is new years
day and you have been working hard to create your new sales
system and you attended a networking event.

So, you arrive at work on January 2nd. and open up your tickler
file. The first thing you should do is move the "1" tab back
behind the February tab. You will always be rolling the system
forward like this, so that the first tab you see in the box
represents the most current month, then the most current day.
Now, you go to the tab for today (Jan 2nd.) and find the card
for the lead that you met at the networking event yesterday.
You call the lead and learn that he/she is out of town until
January 6th. so you make a note which says, "1/2/05 - Mr. Lead
is on vacation till 1/6". Now you drop the card behind the "6"
tab for the month of January.

You will continue to roll this lead forward in the system,
making notes at each step, until the lead either turns into a
customer or asks you to leave them alone.

When the lead turns into a customer, I staple their business
card to a colored card and place it behind the appropriate
alphabetical tab. If their is another opportunity with this
client, I move the colored card back to the dated section and
move them through the process again.

Of course, as you add more people to your pipeline, you might
not get to contact everyone on the day you have them slotted
for. Just move them to the next day's slot at the end of the
current day so you contact them tomorrow.

You will not want to carry around a huge metal box full of
index cards, which is why you want to have a small index card
wallet or box, so if you are going to be on the road or out of
the office, you can simply grab your cards for the day and go.

Not just for salespeople.

While the system is great for salespeople, it also is a great
tool for those of us who are focusing on networking. I actually
use three different colored cards and use white for leads, blue
for clients and red for my networking contacts (patriotic, I
know). On the red cards, I write either 7, 14, 30, 45, 60, etc
in the upper right hand corner of the index card to remind
myself how frequently I want to contact the person, so I simply
move the card forward based on the number on the card. If I want
to contact someone every seven days, I move the card ahead a
week after I make contact.

I hope this system works well for you. If you have any
suggestions, please don't hesitate to send them to me through
my website (http://www.stephenlabuda.com).

About The Author: More information about Stephen can be found
on his blog at http://www.stephenlabuda.com. Stephen is also a
frequent contributor and consultant to
http://www.salesbrief.com, where you can find tons of articles
to help you sell more now!

Staying organized

2006-01-31T10:15:00.000-05:00

I'm still a pen and paper kind of organizer. I like to write things down notes, messages, dates, to-do lists, contacts; everything. On a whole this technique has worked well for me over the years the only problem being when I jot notes down on the go and forget to transfer them to the appropriate place later on. If this is not done I end up finding little pieces of paper with scribbles on them that no longer make sense.

Anyway every once in a while I get the urge to try out a new online organizing system. Mostly I am looking for something that can be used by myself and my clients at the same time to help coordinate our tasks/appointments and the like.

Today I ran across a new one (new to me that is) called Hipcal. I've had a quick look at it and it seems like a feasible program.
I'd be interested to know what other tools people find effective and also if any of you have tried or are using Hipcal.

5 tips for keeping your energy level up

2006-01-30T14:16:00.000-05:00

Beat the 3 p.m. blues
5 tips for keeping your energy level up.
By Gerri Willis, CNN/Money contributing columnist

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - It's a condition all too familiar to many of us...the 3 p.m. slump. No matter how energized you may have felt when you alarm clock went off, by mid-afternoon, your body and mind have just about had it.

In today's 5 tips, we're going to give you the power to keep up those energy levels at work.
1. Stop hitting snooze!

The snooze button has been letting overworked Americans catch a few extra z's for half a century. But if you're looking to increase your energy, you better just get up.
Continue reading...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Web Content Awareness Day

2006-01-29T21:36:00.000-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Web Content Awareness Day Becomes Mass Traffic Generator for Online Biz Owners

Web marketers are flocking in droves to the "Countdown to Web Content Awareness Day Blog" where they can "see their name up in lights" and enjoy a ride on a mass traffic generator in exchange for their promotion of the First Ever Web Marketers' Holiday.

Dina, Web Copywriting Consultant and owner of http://Wordfeeder.com has been actively promoting the upcoming Web Content Awareness Day Website since December and is thrilled with the response she's received. Thanks to a contributing cast of 50+ gurus and experts, the first ever web marketers' holiday will feature a fully stocked website and a plethora of free information. Content Enthusiasts can look forward to timely advice on how to run a web business more effectively while keeping fresh content constantly feeding in.

As Dina tells it, "Oddly enough, the Web Content Awareness Day project (or WCAD) has truly increased our awareness of search engines and viral marketing. WCAD is momentum building on itself. By constantly monitoring our promotional effort, we've been able to isolate exactly which traffic-generating strategies bring the most 'bang for our traffic buck,' and the implementation of those strategies brings more traffic."

Among the quickest ways to build up very high web traffic in a short amount of time - article marketing, blogging, web PR, RSS feeds, networking and link exchanges, all of which will be discussed in-depth both on the Web Content Awareness Day Preview Blog and the main website. http://WebContentAwarenessDay.com will "open its doors" on February 9, 2006 offering tons of inside tips and free downloads from today's top web marketers and content creators.

Currently, Dina and the Web Content Awareness Day team are looking for reciprocal relationships - dynamic content providers who want to help promote the big day in exchange for a spot on their "wacky yet informative" blog.

Interested parties can get a sneak preview on the Countdown to Web Content Awareness Day Blog

which is located at http://wordfeeder.typepad.com/web_content_awareness_day/

Web Content Awareness Day launches on February 9, 2006 at http://WebContentAwarenessDay.com. Email dina@wordfeeder.com for more information.

Outsourcing

2006-01-28T10:09:00.000-05:00

Via Globe & Mail
Associated Press
Outsourcing is a way of life
New York — Lori Booker says her public relations firm's profits rose 25 per cent after she hired a company to handle the business' human resources needs. The reason: She had been devoting so much of her time to employee issues before she turned elsewhere for help.
When small companies outsource parts of their operations, owners and top executives find they can focus more on what really matters — building the business and serving clients and customers better. And with a growing number of companies available to do virtually any kind of work for another business, an owner can outsource as much as he or she can afford. Continue reading...

Virtual Assistant - THE Blog (http://vadirectory.blogspot.com): Advice For Clients Seeking To Use A VA

2006-01-27T14:26:00.000-05:00

Virtual Assistant - THE Blog (http://vadirectory.blogspot.com): Advice For Clients Seeking To Use A VA

Some good tips about working with a VA.

Marketing sins and how to fix them

2006-01-27T12:12:00.000-05:00

From the Virtual Assistant Toolbox
Four Super-Deadly Marketing Sins - And How To Fix Them
Marketing

It seems nowadays every marketing guru and their brother-in-law has a “deadly sins and how to fix them” book, ebook or at least an article! But apparently nobody is reading this stuff! How do I know? Because nine out of every ten businesses continue making the same marketing goof-ups.

The most amazing part is – they are convinced their marketing is great and their phone will be ringing off the hook any moment now!

Time for a reality check! Are you guilty of these four marketing sins? Find out how to fix it!
Continue reading

new year

2006-01-25T16:35:00.000-05:00

I've no excuse for not posting in such a long time other than the more I put it off the easier it is to forget about it.
I had a great Christmas, even though I was alone I still had a lot of fun. Amongst many things I recieved Madonna's new CD which is unbelievable, I can't get enough of it. Ive been waiting years for her to do an all dance album.
I've made some major changes to Annette Payne designs and to my website. I've finally decided to change the focus from a products based business to more of a service based business. I'll still be making and offering custom handmade stationery but I will now be offering administrative support and design services.
I realized that I really missed being able to help people. I've always been involved in some sort of customer service related field and although I do enjoy creating my artwork and other things I really needed to be back working and helping people.
I'm looking forward to the new year and all of the opportunities ahead.

holiday shopping

2005-12-13T10:35:00.000-05:00

Finally got out to do some shopping yesterday. I had to find something for my niece and nephew. I hit the mall and was pleasantly surprised to see it was not very busy. I guess the plan of shopping on a Monday afternoon payed off.
I found some great outfits at Gap Kids which I am happy with but dumbfounded by the cost. An item on its own is reasonable but I had to get complete outfits for both kids so it adds up quickly.
I also got a little something for myself (of course) and walked away with a new pair of dark brown ankle boots. Very happy with that.

River

2005-12-08T10:45:00.000-05:00

A picture of the river taken this morning. During this time of year the river changes shape everyday. You can hear the ice scraping and cracking as it moves and shifts throughout the day.

Building Confidence

2005-11-18T09:55:00.000-05:00

Here is a fantastic link to a post written by Yaro Starak about building self confidence. The thoughts expressed reflect my own feelings and I found reading this a helpful reminder and will do so again when I have those occasional moments of self doubt.

An excerpt from the post:
"Your success will be determined by your personal congruency,
your courage of conviction and faith in your own abilities.

If you donÂt have experience, you are young and just starting out in life, you donÂt have a history of events to draw conclusions from. Books, videos, podcasts and education in general are a good starting point but you will never have success, you will never get true confidence in yourself without experience, without taking actions and learning from the outcomes.

The beauty of experience is that it comes from both success and failure. While one makes you feel great and the other makes you feel lousy, the end result is still experience and a new framework of perception you can apply to your future life."

Via Yaro Starak

New adventures

2005-11-11T10:25:00.000-05:00

I have been given the opportunity to house sit for my brother up in Gibsons BC starting in January for three months and after doing some research about the area I have decided to take this opportunity.
I have learned that Gibsons has a lot of economic potential and the town is starting to do a lot of work towards building a stronger future. What is really exciting for me is there focus on tourism as my background lies in hospitality and tourism.
Originally I thought I would just go for three months and then come back to Ontario but now that I see how much opportunity there is in Gibsons I am starting to think that I may stay longer.
I've started to make a few contacts there and hope to make a few more this month before people get wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays.

Skype

2005-11-09T12:08:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I discovered Skype, an online telephony program which provides free telephone service to individuals connected to skype. Unfortunately my computer does not have a built in microphone and I do not have a headset or microphone at the moment so I will have to wait to see how the service works. My main concern of course is the sound quality. I have experienced poor sound quality with other systems including an echo effect.
I can't wait to try this out and am excited of the prospect of no longer worrying about crazy long distance charges!

Microfinancing

2005-11-04T16:01:00.000-05:00

I discovered the organization Kiva yesterday and think it is a wonderful idea and will follow there progress in the coming months. They are fairly new and hope that they will continue to grow.
Described on there website "Kiva provides a new, sponsor a business option for individuals to connect with small enterprises in developing countries through flexible loans."
I am a big fan of microfinancing and think this is such a good idea and am surprised it hasn't been done before (at least not to my knowledge).

The past two weeks I have...

2005-11-04T15:57:00.000-05:00

My activities for the last two weeks have been:

Cleaning
Emptying out my bedroom
Ripping up carpeting
Painting walls
Painting the floor
Sorting and organizing stuff from bedroom
Putting furniture and saved stuff back into bedroom

Outside:
Raking leaves
Re-organizing cottage
Moving lawn furniture into cottage
Moving rocks

I had hoped to accomplish all of these tasks in a week but I forgot to take into account that I could not bring furniture back into the bedroom right away because I was painting the floor which needed three coats of paint and required a few extra days of drying time.
I also took two days off to visit with friends and do some shopping and one day off to kick back and relax.

Update

2005-10-06T18:16:00.000-04:00

I have been so busy for the last while I have neglected this site so I am trying to squeeze in a few moments now.
This past week I had a bit of a vacation and spent a few days in Grimsby Ontario where I helped celebrate my grandmothers 90th birthday with friends and family. It was a lot of fun and I had the opportunity to visit with my niece and nephew who I do not get to see very often.
This past month has found me busy working outdoors on some landscaping projects. I have been moving rocks and laying out stone pathways, a job that seemed easy until I started; now I am trying not to regret it.
In between all of this I have been kept busy working and filling orders which is fantastic but has not aloud much time for design, a problem worth having.
I participated in the sampler this month and can’t wait for my package of goodies to arrive. I did not participate last month and missed out on the fun so I am determined to participate each month, it is so much fun and I love to see all the wonderful things other creative people make.

Katrina

2005-09-02T16:06:00.000-04:00

My thoughts and best wishes go out to all affected by Katrina. I hope the help you all desperately need comes soon.
To everybody wishing to help, here is the link to the American Red Cross.

goodies

2005-08-25T16:39:00.000-04:00

August was my first time participating in the Sampler and yesterday I recieved my package of goodies. It was just like Christmas opening up my surprise package and seeing all the great stuff inside. Unfortunately I did not send things off for the September sampler and do I ever regret it. I had no idea it would be so much fun getting great stuff in return so I have started making some cards to participate in October's sampler.
I can't wait to see what I get in the mail next time.

cement is my excuse

2005-08-15T12:28:00.000-04:00

I have been so busy lately I have neglected this blog and I feel terrible. So what have I been up to?
Let’s see, well I have been doing the usual, making cards and have created a new design that I am quite happy with, a hibiscus flower design incorporating cut paper for petals and stitching for accents.
I am revisiting the idea of working with cement and have spent the last week experimenting with different additives and structural compounds. A few years ago I fooled around with cement and found it to be an interesting medium to work with plus it is extremely affordable. Right now I am playing around with incorporating recycled materials into my cement mixture, mostly paper products to be used for sculpture.
I have found it works very well turning the mixture into something similar to clay.

During all of this I have been giving out free business advice to a few people and am starting to think I should start charging for these services. I seem to be the go to person for business advice which is fine as I really enjoy helping other people out and like to share some of my knowledge and experiences but now that it takes up so much valuable time I can’t seem to justify giving away such services for free.
Consultant – something else to add to the old resume.

2005-07-22T14:54:00.000-04:00

Came across this illustrator/artist today and thought I would share. I really like her latest illustration (as of this post) of the handstands. Love her style.

Moving on

2005-07-19T19:16:00.000-04:00

I have finally completed a card order which I had been struggling over for the past week. I had been given an order for five cards sight unseen which gave me the option of coming up with something new. Normally this would be great but for some reason I became completely blocked. It could be that I have been putting all of my focus into card design and nothing else and became tired. Yesterday I gave myself a deadline and a promise that once I completed this project I would move onto some other projects and forget about cards for a while. This seemed to do the trick.
No pictures yet but plan to do a photo shoot tomorrow.
I am excited about starting some new projects although I have so many things I would like to try I am not sure where to begin.
Will figure that out tomorrow.

Heat = no excuses

2005-07-12T16:39:00.000-04:00

Well the heat wave is back and that means I am limited to about 1 – 2 hours of studio working time. My studio does not have air conditioning, or the house for that matter and paper and humidity do not mix so I am limited to about two hours first thing in the morning before the studio heats up. I am contemplating reversing my sleeping habits so I can sleep threw the day and miss the heat and work threw the night when it is cool. In the mean time it is just as well because I have a lot of administrative work to complete and not having the distraction of creative fun has given me the chance to catch up on the work I have been avoiding; most importantly my website which I hope to have up by next week.
I hope the rest of you out there in this heat wave are surviving. Stay cool everybody!

sampler samples complete

2005-07-09T19:49:00.000-04:00

I have finally finished putting together my contributions for the sampler which need to get sent out early next week. Creating the tags took much longer than I had thought so I am glad to have them all packaged up and ready to go. I think I will have to take a break from making anymore for a while or I will start to dislike them.
I have also started making little jotter note pads with leftover scraps of paper, to small for regular projects but perfect for mini note pads. I am thinking of including a few of them to the sampler as well if I have time to make a few over the rest of the weekend.

Oh Canada

2005-07-01T12:54:00.000-04:00

Happy Canada day everybody!!!!

New tags

2005-06-26T21:20:00.000-04:00

I have decided to submit gift tags as my contribution to the Sampler. I wanted to create something that would be fairly quick and simple to make as I want to submit at least 50 items. When I made the first prototype it seemed simple enough but after a few alterations I am realizing that the gift tags are not such a good idea after all. It turns out the cards I make would have been faster as they involve less steps than the gift tags.
After creating the first tags shown in the picture I decided I didn’t like the square edges and thought they would look better rounded – unfortunately this takes much longer to do. Having spent all day making tags and completing less than twenty I am now rethinking the rounded edges and considering reverting back to squared corners.
I hate to sacrifice style over speed, perhaps I will get faster as I continue to make the tags.

Somewhere between Collingwood On. and Ottawa

2005-06-25T17:52:00.000-04:00

I was in Collingwood Ontario last weekend and had a great time, I had never been before and was pleasantly surprised at how nice the town and surrounding area was. What I found most interesting oddly enough, was the drive there and back. The route traveled threw many farming towns and small communities. It is amazing to see how some people decorate there lawns or express themselves creatively.
This picture is of somebody's front lawn, it was decorated with all kinds of stuffed animals and toys.

These two pictures are of about 3 or 4 trees where somebody has covered them in shoes. I don't know how they did it, how long it took and whether or not it is an ongoing project. The location of the trees is just along the highway and I couldn't see a home near by so I can't figure where the shoe person could be coming from.

Point and click; then what

2005-06-06T12:54:00.000-04:00

Got the camera, spent the weekend fooling around with the camera, took lots of product shots, resized the shots and they all look terrible. I can not for figure out what it is I am doing wrong but something just isn't working and I am very close to loosing it. I hate/love love/hate technology.
I had intended to spend the weekend getting proper images for my site and getting them and that just didnt happen. Not sure what to do now. It seemed like such an easy task to do. I bet there is a very simple solution and I will be kicking myself later if and when I figure it out. I just dont understand why my images are so lousy when I resize them.
Looks like I will be spending my week learning how to take quality pictures and how to resize them.
Please send tips if you have any, I am at a lose right now.

New camera

2005-06-03T22:07:00.000-04:00

I ordered my digital camera yesterday and it arrived today - thank you staples and your free next day delivery, I don't know what I would do without you.
I am now in the middle of trying to figure out proper lighting techniques and how to take a self portrait. I had an interview with Readers Digest earlier in the week and they requested a picture of me “at work” so I need to get that sent off ASAP.

On Wednesday I finally came up with a new Thank You card design, I call it the “Lillykate” inspired by the colour combinations of green and pink by Lilly Pulitzer back in the 60’s and the clean simple lines of a Kate Spade design. I wanted something new for a thank you gift that I add into my orders. I hope the design goes over well.

This weekend will be spent playing around with the new camera and hopefully getting a start on my product shots.

Suppliers

2005-05-25T11:31:00.000-04:00

I am still having a tough time finding decent Canadian suppliers for decorative and regular paper. I have found a few but the selections are limited. I have been ordering a lot from an American store called Paper Source and have been extremely satisfied with there selection and service but I would prefer to order from someplace closer to home.
I would still recommend checking out there site - it's like eyecandy for anybody who loves paper.

2005-05-25T11:00:00.000-04:00

Kodak Easyshare CX7430

Step One: Get Camera

2005-05-25T09:56:00.000-04:00

I am in the final stages of setting up my website and the last and one of the most important things I am waiting on now is to purchase a digital camera so I can put up some decent pictures of my products. Right now all I have are scans of my cards but that just won't do. Besides I can't scan anything I make if it is 3dimentional. Anyway after much research I think I have decided upon the Kodak Easyshare CX7430, it seems to offer everything I need and it is within my price range - less than $300.00 Cdn. That is before I purchase all the accessories to go along with it.
I will be purchasing the camera next month and can't wait to start playing around with the new toy and to start doing some product shots.