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The Department of Homeland Security has released a new I-9 form. If you hire employees (or plan to do so in the future) make sure you have the latest form. The I-9 form is one that is used to verify identity of the employee and to confirm their ability to work in the United States legally. You can find the new form and instructions here. Does this all sound mysterious to you? Make sure to check out The People Plan where we take all the mystery out of hiring, training, and managing employees. 
For those of you with “day jobs” outside of the business you are building, it can seem like getting to “full time” can take FOREVER. Be patient. Until then, use your day job as a building block. Here’s the thing… and I’ll speak from experience as an entrepreneur for the last 9 years… when it’s up to you as the business owner, you are completely responsible for ALL the learning you do. You HAVE to seek out education and self-teach yourself EVERYTHING. Use your day job to learn everything you can. Think of your weaknesses and seek out opportunities to make them stronger. Take the opportunity to learn:
These experiences that you have in your day job will make you so much stronger as a business owner. Don’t downplay it or take it for granted. Make the most of it!
May 10, 2013 - 12:02 pm
Thanks, Michelle, for posting this. I’ve been struggling a little bit with this exact thing. Patience is such a hard thing, but I’m learning and making the most of my time. I talk to many of you who are dying to get out of a day job and can’t do so fast enough. Be patient. Did you know that Kelly Simants had a full-time job for 7 years before she went full-time with Sweet Pea Events? I had an odd assortment of part-time jobs for about 3 years while I was trying to get my stationery business off the ground. These things don’t happen overnight. With so many overnight success stories it’s hard to believe that it would take a long time to build a business… but overnight success is not the norm. In fact, many of the business owners I know in this industry who have had some solid success started out in another industry and slogged away at it for several years before being able to be full-time in their own business. I think this builds tenacity and determination that are both necessary for any entrepreneur. This is a fantastic post from Debbie Orwat of Planner’s Lounge. Check it out: Transitioning from your day job to your wedding business. She talks about how it took her years to go full-time in her business also. And, she shares some great tips on how to prepare yourself for that transition. What about you? How long were you at your day job with your “business-on-the-side”? OR – are you someone who is looking to transition in the upcoming year(s)? Share with us in a comment below about what your goals are to get there.
May 2, 2013 - 7:57 am
Thank you so much Michelle! I appreciate you sharing this!
May 2, 2013 - 8:23 am
Great post! That is exactly what I needed this morning, a little reality check
May 2, 2013 - 9:27 am
Thank you for this!!
May 2, 2013 - 2:11 pm
Wow! Perfect timing on this one. I had that “the Pastor is preaching directly to me” moments, and I thank you for the information.
May 2, 2013 - 7:50 pm
I really needed to hear this right now! Thanks!!
May 2, 2013 - 9:19 pm
Another Thank You – this has been a tough week at my day job and I’m trying to use any time I have to work on building the skeleton for my business. Thank you for reminding me it doesn’t happen overnight, and that little by little, I’ll get there!
May 3, 2013 - 9:25 am
What great posts for Thursday and Friday of this week! Thank you, Michelle! After being unhappy in my day job for two years, I finally decided to take the leap to launch my wedding and event planning business part time a little over 6 months ago. I’m thrilled to say in just twelve days I will be finished with my day job, and will be a full time business owner! Be patient and work hard, and it WILL happen! .jpg) Image: Creative Commons If you track the return on the investment (ROI) for your ads you may have found that some of your ads may not be working for you. Why is this happeneing? Today, let’s explore… 5 Reasons Your Ads Are Failing You: 1.) The site or magazine targets a different bride and/or groom than you do. Take a DEEP look at the site or magazine where you are advertising. Who is the bride (or groom) in the images? Describe her in detail. What is her style? What are her likes? What are the weddings like that are featured? Now – take a hard look at your ideal client and who you are targeting. Is it a match? A great way to learn more about the target of the website is to read comments on the blog posts (or in the “chat groups” if the site has this feature.) What are people commenting on? Are they commenting on the latest deal they snagged? Are they sharing DIY tips? If these aren’t the types of clients that you have, then you know this is a not a match for your business. 2.) Your ad is weak. Do not downplay the influence of your ad. The images you choose to feature have EVERYTHING to do with why someone will click on your ad (or phone you, if it’s a print ad.) If it’s a website ad, it needs to stop a reader in their tracks and compel them to click on your ad. (Hint: a business logo isn’t necessarily going to compel them to click unless the business name draws them in.) If you have a print ad, it needs to be something that will make the reader stop and sit with the image for a while. Readers and viewers are in media OVERLOAD these days. Give them an ad/image that makes them stop and drop what they’re doing. 3.) Your website is weak. You may have an awesome ad that stops people in their tracks and brings them to your site. KUDOS! But, the minute they get to your site, they spend 15 seconds and click off. So many businesses lose the sale the minute that a potential client gets to the website. You’ve lost all those advertising dollars the minute that person reached your site. What a shame. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of investing in your site BEFORE advertising anywhere. (I also don’t believe in rebranding every year. Be smart about this.) 4.) The website (or magazine) doesn’t get enough traffic to bring you traffic. Make sure you know the statistics on traffic. If it’s a website go to Alexa.com and see what the volume of their traffic is like. For both sites and magazines, ask the ad sales rep for statistics and information on readership and subscriptions. If they can’t provide this, you don’t want to do business with them. 5.) Your ad is poorly placed on the site. If the reader needs to flip through 3 pages of website to find you, they aren’t going to find you. (People rarely dig deeper than 2 pages, if that.) If you are at the bottom 40 banner ads, people are less likely to see you. You may have to try and test a few placements to see what works for your business. So… what happens when your ad doesn’t pay off? You need to decide: Share with us in a comment below: what has been your experience with advertising? What has worked for you?
April 30, 2013 - 7:13 am
I also think that many couples are viewing sites on Mobile devices- which often cuts out the ads or puts the down at the bottom of the content where they are missed as well. In fact, viewing some of the ‘big’ blogs on my iphone? Not an ad to be seen…
April 30, 2013 - 7:27 am
Ahhh… yes! So true! This changes so much about how we advertise traditionally. The website still gets the traffic to the posts… but no one actually sees the ads. Google analytics does show mobile use. The categories are: safari (in app), android browser, and blackberry. I would want to know those stats with an advertiser. I want to know that where I am advertising still gets the more traditional computer click-thru. Such a great thought, Carey! Thanks for sharing! The term “impressions” is used to define the number of times an ad is displayed online, whether it is clicked on or not. I like to think of impressions in a broader scope in terms of your marketing. I define impressions as the number of times your business is seen ANYWHERE. An impression can be:
Each time you are seen, you make an impression. And, it’s important to be seen in lots of places so that people remember you. It’s all a part of being visible. How many impressions are you making?
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I’m going to go back to being a legal assistant now….
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by Michelle Loretta