Aspire to Inspire

Free Help With Google AdWords

A while back I wrote about dominating your niche with Google's Pay Per Click Advertising.  This was a review of the product PPC Domination which I still highly recommend!

It is a comprehensive, step-by-step video series which walks you through developing a campaign with key terms and then putting that campaign into action.

I am still learning and putting this teaching into practice - with some great results I will share later.

But, in the process, I found something else very helpful.  This time it is FREE.

I love free tools.  Now, don't get me wrong, I pay for good training and it is invaluable.  If you are looking only to get free training, there is a lot of good training out there, but there is a lot of junk to wade through as well.

I have not gone through all of this, but these videos are an excellent place to start or an additional resource - especially when you have a very particular question.

They are each very short clips explaining a specific part of the pay per click process.

Check them out - very informative and comprehensive - and FREE.  Google's Training

A Little Logo

I love it when I run across free stuff to share with you!

When you are starting a business, you want to do things without a lot of cost.  Heck, even if you have been in business for a while you want to do that!

And building your brand is part of building your business!

So, you need a logo.  But, to get a graphic designer to create just the right one.  Or to create one yourself in html format can be a pain.

You have other things you need to be working on, right?  Logos, while they build your brand, do not make you money.  So, spending hours on creating just the right logo is not wise.

But having a logo shows that you are more professional and you can create just the impression you want to make.

This site is very cool.  It offers free logos that you can customize to create your one-of-a-kind logo for your website, business cards, stationary, e-zine etc.

Check it out here - Logoinstant

But don't spend too much time with it and get back to the stuff that makes you money using your hip new look!

Here's to Inspired Branding!

Do You Have a Note From Your Doctor?

I broke down and went to the doctor the other day because I had had enough of feeling like soggy cereal all day long.

Overall it was a decent experience - good customer service, short wait time - totally NOT what you would expect from a doctors office.  But, I digress, because that was not what I was going to write about (though I always make a learning experience out of ANY customer service I receive).

At the end of my visit, after my oh so fun shot in the toukis - the nurse asked me if I needed a note from the doctor.

WHAT?

I felt like I was back in high school.  It took me a while to recover from this shock and look at her without a totally uncomprehending look on my face.

No, really, for what felt like 5 minutes (but was really more like about 30 seconds), I had NO IDEA of what she was talking about.  I just could not digest the idea that a grown woman over the age of 18 (ok, over the age of 22 since some college professors might rightly demand one) would need a note from their doctor to prove they were really sick.

Seriously?

At first I was a bit offended - The nurse was not offensive, the question was.  

Then I just felt sad.  Sad at the fact that we must even need such a thing.  That there are 1. People who are not trustworthy enough to take off when they are actually sick and 2.  Employers who do not trust their employees enough that they have to require one (presumably because of #1).

And I was sad for the poor soul who has to say yes.

Chalk this one up to another reason I am glad to work for myself.  

No notes for this employer - a bed to sleep off the shot, yes, a note, no!