As you may know, I’m a consulting technology advisor with SBDC TAP. SBDC = Small Business Development Center. TAP = Technology Advisory Program (and sometimes Technology Adoption Program) which runs out of the Silicon Valley SBDC. SBDC has centers all over the Northern California region. TAP serves all of these centers in the region.

I attended the regional meeting today in Berkeley for all of the center directors and advisors in NorCal. When it came time for awards, much to my surprise — I mean, really, I was not expecting this — I received an award for “Excellence in Economic Impact Performance 2011.” Wooot! Apparently I had the highest percentage of clients in TAP that had positive economic performance. That’s nice to know. I’m pleased and proud.

Aside, the best part of the day was that I got to meet so many of the business advisors and directors that I’ve worked with by email and phone for the last four years.

From the Silicon Valley SBDC website:

We’re dedicated to the success of entrepreneurs in the Greater Silicon Valley Area, which includes Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.

The Silicon Valley Small Business Development Center offers a wide variety of services for present and potential small business owners. Our services include no-charge expert consulting, low-cost training, information resources, events and seminars. All consulting services are confidential and free of charge.

For Santa Cruz folks, our local center is Central Coast SBDC, located at Cabrillo College.

The Winter-Spring City of Santa Cruz Parks & Recreation catalog arrived today! Get ready to start 2012 with information and inspiration about Marketing, Website planning, and Social Media. In January and February 2012 I’m teaching (and co-teaching) three classes with two of my favorite collaborators, Kathryn Gorges and Karen Kefauver.

If you receive the paper catalog, our classes are listed on page 34. You can also view our classes online here. All will be held at NextSpace, 101 Cooper Street, downtown Santa Cruz.

Online registration opens on Tuesday, January 3 at 8am. Here are the steps to find our classes online (or register by calling the Parks & Rec office at 831-420-5270 Monday-Thursday).

>> Click on the right side blue box “Register NOW with instaReg”
>> Click on “Register for Programs”
>> Click on the left side “Special Interest”
>> Click on “Show Courses” under each of the following class titles:

• ABC’s of Your Marketing Makeover, Tuesday, January 31, 6:30-9:30pm, $79.
• ABC’s of Planning Your New or Revamped Website, Tuesday, February 7, 6:30-9:30 pm, $79.
• ABC’s of Integrating Social Media with your Website, Tuesday, February 21, 6:30-9:30 pm, $79.

Read the class descriptions here. If you have any questions, contact me here.

Website: http://saraisenberg.com
Blog: http://saraisenberg.com/blog
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SaraIsenbergConsulting <= Visit & click “LIKE”
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/saraisenberg
Twitter: @saraisenberg
About.me: http://about.me/saraisenberg

Have you heard of the new MakersFactory in Santa Cruz? If not, you will soon.

I’ve been helping MakersFactory get started and can say there’s a lot of buzz and excitement, validated by the 70+ attendees at last Friday’s first ever MakersFactory Meetup.

What is MakersFactory bringing to Santa Cruz?

1. Workshops, classes, courses all about 3D printing, modeling, animation, and robotics.
2. Lots of cutting edge equipment.
3. A brick and mortar workspace opening in November at 877 Cedar Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060.
4. A community of makers, geeks, students, hobbyists, kids, parents, and other folks who are interested in this new technology.

For more about MakersFactory in Santa Cruz:

• Visit thewebsite: http://makersfactory.com. Sign up to receive the newsletter (at the bottom of the website).
• Follow on Facebook: http://facebook.com/makersfactory.
• Join the MakersFactory meetup: http://www.meetup.com/MakersFactory-Meetup-Group. (The next meetup is Nov 11, 2011, 6:30pm.)

Here are some great resources with tips and hints on blogging for business.

• How to Improve Your Blog – A collection of 110 informative tips from a wide variety of bloggers. Some of my favorites include:
  • Resist the Urge to Overplug — make it more than self-promotion.
  • Short Attention Spans Rule — keep it short.
  • Gimme News I Can Use.
• Six Reasons Every Brand Should Blog — From Huffington Post blogger, Paula Berg:
  • “Despite the evidence in favor of blogging, with the rise of Twitter and Facebook, many brands are reluctant to blog. While blogs can be a lot of work, they provide a foundation for information on the web and an owned platform for your social business.”
  • Brand Identity: A blog provides a low-cost, long-term venue to continuously bring your brand to life.
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO): A blog provides an informative resources for anyone seeking information about you or issues related to your brand.
  • Control the Message: A blog provides you with a platform to accurately tell the important brand stories.
  • Social Media Home Base: A blog provides a long-term home for content than can be continually accessed and pushed through other social and traditional channels.
  • Lead generation: A blog can help grow your business
  • Analytics: Blog analytics can help you perfect your online communication strategies and improve ROI.
• Good Blogging Etiquette for Guest Posting Hopefuls — from Tutorial Blog:
  • “As bloggers, wanna-be writers and hopeful freelancers, we hear, probably on a daily basis, just how important guest blogging is. We know we should be guest blogging which means we know we should be actively seeking out new blogs and new sites as potential homes for our precious content.”
  • Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice — add your own kick and spunk.
  • Make the Host Blogger’s Job as Easy as You Possibly Can
  • Be Yourself, But Try to Fit In Too
  • Don’t Be a Stranger – don’t just blog and vanish.

Thanks for attending my June 21, 2011 class Before You Hire Your Web Designer or Web Developer. [If it's before the class date, you'll find class registration info here.]

Here are some helpful resources for anybody planning a website from scratch or an update to an existing website.

Two great 1-evening classes coming up June 14 and 21. Register online at City of Santa Cruz Parks & Rec or call 831-420-5270. http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/index.aspx?page=540

1. Get the Best Online “Local Search” Results! Tue, June 14, 6:30-9:30pm at NextSpace. $68 for one evening class. #14476
2. Before You Hire Your Web Designer or Developer! Tue, June 21, 6:30-9:30pm at NextSpace. $68 for one evening class. #14475

Details:

[This started out as a Facebook note with friends. There was such a great response/conversation, that I decided to turn it into a blog post. If we're personally -- not just via my business Page -- connected on Facebook, you can view the conversation there.] [Updated July 19, 2011, January 7, 2012]

I cannot tell you how many times in the last several years I’ve been asked to volunteer (that is, work for free) to do things that I get paid to do as a professional consultant. This includes speaking, presenting, organizing, organizing speakers, organizing presenters, planning, brainstorming, teaching, pulling meetings together, posting, tweeting, sharing resources information, finding web designers, and otherwise connecting people.

Honestly, when I’m asked to volunteer or “let’s have lunch while I pick your brain,” my first gut response is that I’m flattered. But, considering that I don’t have a full time salary (or a rich spouse) I’m limited as to how much I can volunteer in my “free” time, and how much I want to give up my free time for something that’s not a high priority for me. The line between professional, volunteer, and personal time is completely blurry. Actually, there is no line. It’s all one pot of time.

Sometimes I say yes to a request because I think it will bring me professional opportunities or connections. Other times I say yes in anticipation of personal satisfaction. I’m happy to chat with friends with whom I have a relationship that’s close enough such that I would turn to them for their expertise. Indeed, the most likely reason I’ll say yes is simply so I can hang out with interesting people. Regardless, I’m starting to feel some frustration or resentment.

Note: I’m not talking about situations where the request is for something where everybodyis a volunteer, such as at my son’s school, for TEDx, or for a fundraiser. I’m not talking about a question or conversation that takes place when I’m already doing something with the person who is asking, social or otherwise. I don’t mind if it’s a friend or colleague who would help me in exchange. However, it boggles my mind how often solidly employed people (from the chamber, UCSC, Cabrillo, etc), or business people who stand to benefit financially from my input, think sufficient compensation for my spending hours talking, preparing, presenting is “You’ll make all sorts of great connections that might lead to new clients for you.” That is, it’s ok that I work for free on something that’s for the benefit of THEIR business’s bottom line. Would you ask your attorney to lunch so you can pick their brain about legal stuff? Not unless they’re your best friend. Would you expect the masseuse at Esalen to work for free because it would be a great way to meet people who’d become clients?

So, recently, when I received what I *think* is another request to give my professional services away for free, and it took me waaaaay too long to compose a — what might have been an appropriate — response, I found solace in these articles (blog posts, see below). These writers have done a fine job in articulating my growing frustration. I’ll still volunteer from time to time but I’m getting more ornery about it.

And, if we were friends before you asked, I still want to be friends after I say no.

• http://outspokenmedia.com/online-marketing/pick-your-brand-requests/
• http://kommein.com/you-want-to-pick-my-brain-pay-me/
• http://kickingsand.com/no-you-cant-pick-my-brain/
• http://prblog.typepad.com/strategic_public_relation/2010/02/can-i-pick-your-brain.html
• http://belladomain.wordpress.com/2010/04/06/are-you-on-the-national-no-brain-picking-list/
• http://shankman.com/an-open-letter-to-kami/
• http://www.techipedia.com/2010/the-audacity-of-free/
• http://makeness.com/the-top-5-marketing-complaints-that-make-me-want-to-throw-a-brick-at-you/
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj5IV23g-fE
• http://shouldiworkforfree.com/
• http://www.openforum.com/articles/6-ways-to-let-people-pick-your-brain-without-wasting-your-time
• http://www.dvafoto.com/2011/04/fuck-you-pay-me-a-discussion-of-adventures-in-contracts-negotiation-and-payment/
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2011/03/28/no-you-cant-pick-my-brain-it-costs-too-much/

Anybody out there have any stories about this happening to you? How did you handle it without hurting the relationship? Do you have any thoughts or recommendations on how to raise awareness of this?

Thanks!
Sara

Website: http://saraisenberg.com
Blog: http://saraisenberg.com/blog
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SaraIsenbergConsulting
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/saraisenberg
Twitter: @saraisenberg

Thank you for attending Santa Cruz Parks & Rec class Intro to WordPress.com for Free Website or Blog on March 1, 2011.

My presentation is available here:
Download Presentation [PDF]

My Upcoming Classes are listed here:
http://saraisenberg.com/upcoming-classes/

Here are some great Blogging and WordPress resources:

• How to Fail at Blogging and Social Media: http://saraisenberg.com/2011/02/08/how-to-fail-at-blogging-and-social-media/
• Great Social Media Resources – LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blogging (scroll down to see the blogging links): http://saraisenberg.com/2010/07/22/social-media-resources-linkedin-facebook-twitter-blogging/

• WordPress: http://wordpress.org
• More WordPress: http://wordpress.com
• More WordPress: http://learn.wordpress.com
• Even More WordPress http://wordpress.tv
• Even MORE WordPress: Printer-friendly version of the entire Learn WordPress.com tutorial

• Business Blogging Best Practices: http://socialmediab2b.com/2009/06/business-blogging-best-practices/
• Business Blogging Best Practices (video): http://everything.typepad.com/blog/2009/02/typepad-business-class.html
• Blogging Best Practices: http://www.echoditto.com/blogging
• New! 30 Tips On How To Make Your Company’s Blog Rock: http://www.jeffbullas.com/2010/02/21/30-tips-on-how-to-make-your-companys-blog-rock/
• New! 20 Blogs Every Business Owner Should Read: http://www.businessinsider.com/20-blogs-every-business-owner-should-read-2010-7
• 9 Things to Do to Make Sure Your Next Blog Post is Read by More than Your Mom: http://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/09/03/9-things-to-do-to-make-sure-your-next-blog-post-is-read-by-more-than-your-mom/
• New! The Yahoo! Style Guide: http://styleguide.yahoo.com/
• How to Trick People into Reading Your Blog: http://outspokenmedia.com/blogging/how-to-trick-people-into-reading-your-blog/

Thanks!
Sara

Website: http://saraisenberg.com
Blog: http://saraisenberg.com/blog
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SaraIsenbergConsulting
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/saraisenberg
Twitter: @saraisenberg

Thank you for attending our Santa Cruz Parks & Rec class Expand Your Reach With Social Media on February 1, 2011.

My presentation is available for viewing or downloading here:
Download Presentation [PDF]

Upcoming Classes:

1. ABCs of SEO – Basics of Search Engine Optimization (with co-instructor, SEO expert, Steve Penny) on Feb 15, 2011.
2. Build a Free Blog or Website with WordPress.com on March 1, 2011.

Details about the classes and registration, see: http://saraisenberg.com/upcoming-classes/

For more resources, see:

• My collection of best SEO Resources: http://saraisenberg.com/2010/10/16/best-seo-resources/
• My collection of best Social Media Resources: http://saraisenberg.com/2010/07/22/social-media-resources-linkedin-facebook-twitter-blogging/
• Review: http://www.mindjumpers.com/blog/2011/01/the-impact-of-social-media/
• Full HBR Article: http://hbr.org/hbrg-main/resources/pdfs/comm/sas/16203-hbr-sas-report-r3.pdf

Thanks!
Sara
Website: http://saraisenberg.com
Blog: http://saraisenberg.com/blog
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SaraIsenbergConsulting
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/saraisenberg
Twitter: @saraisenberg

Thank you for attending my Santa Cruz Parks & Rec class How to Prepare for Your Website Overhaul or New Website on January 25, 2011.

My presentation is available for viewing or downloading here:
Download Presentation [PDF]

Upcoming Classes:

1. Expand Your Reach with Soclal Media (with co-instructor Karen Kefauver) on Feb 1, 2011
2. ABCs of SEO – Basics of Search Engine Optimization (with co-instructor, SEO expert, Steve Penny) on Feb 15, 2011.
3. Build a Free Blog or Website with WordPress.com on March 1, 2011.

Details about the classes and registration, see: http://saraisenberg.com/upcoming-classes/

For more resources, see:

• My collection of best SEO Resources: http://saraisenberg.com/2010/10/16/best-seo-resources/
• My collection of best Social Media Resources: http://saraisenberg.com/2010/07/22/social-media-resources-linkedin-facebook-twitter-blogging/
• My collection of Best Resources Before you Design your Small Business Website: http://saraisenberg.com/2010/12/13/best-resources-to-review-before-you-design-your-small-business-website/
• Fast/Cheap/Good Venn Diagram
• Fast/Cheap/Good Triangle
• [added Feb 20, 2011] Preparing and Planning for a Redesign: http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/10/preparing-and-planning-for-a-redesign/

Thanks!
Sara
Website: http://saraisenberg.com
Blog: http://saraisenberg.com/blog
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SaraIsenbergConsulting
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/saraisenberg
Twitter: @saraisenberg