by Nicole Ouellette | Sep 9, 2010 | Too Cute Tuesday
Editor’s Note: Too Cute Tuesday is a weekly craft and cocktail. We have a Bar Harbor chapter and a Saint Louis chapter.This week’s post is by Sarah, blogger and Saint Louis Too Cute Tuesday organizer. Want more? See all the posts at www.toocutetuesday.com.
Inspired by the St. Louis Art Museum, last week we here at TCT-StL tried our hands at paint-infused bubble art. Sounds fancy, huh? Get ready to be amazed.
Supplies:
– white paper
– plastic cups/bowls (the wider the mouth, the more paint on your paper)
– straws
– dish soap
– water
– water-based non-toxic paint (poster paint works well)
Cocktail of the night:
– white wine or beer of your choice ) it was still plenty hot here in St. Louis!
1. Troubleshoot bubble-making with the person who suggested the project. Realize that neither one of you bothered to read the directions and decide that maybe a few guidelines would be helpful after all. We used this website: http://www.things-to-make-and-do.co.uk/painting-and-pictures/bubble-painting/bubble-painting.html Realize that there is more to it than what you did when you were five.
by Nicole Ouellette | Sep 4, 2010 | This Week In Business
The beauty with a website business is that, at least theoretically, you should be able to have a customer anywhere. Note the ‘should’.
In my first year of being full time, all but one of my clients was in Downeast Maine. (And the non-local one I met at a local party through a local friend). I like being in Maine so this was fine with me. But the whole point of an online business is to reach out further than you would in terms of geography. Ideally, I think my lack of remote work made me a bit worried that my skills wouldn’t translate beyond my geographic area.
In addition to making a video on the main page of my site (which a few new clients have told me made them a lot less nervous about contacting me) and otherwise proactively seeking out work, I now have multiple remote accounts, and my first ever client I’ve never met.
I finally set up an Elance profile to be even more proactive about seeking out work.
My friend Dorrie had written me out a bunch of links she had heard on a business radio show a few months ago. The paper has been on my desk since; I had enough work at the time but thought if I was going to reach beyond coastal Maine, this might be the way to do it.
I finally set up an Elance profile a couple weeks ago, if only to have the chance to bid on projects that sounded interesting. I’ve bid on a small one and, since I haven’t heard back yet, I’m guessing I didn’t get it. Oh well, you win some, you lose some!
I’ve been awarded the bid for my hometown Chamber’s new website.
I put in a bid for the Chamber of Commerce’s website in my hometown of Fort Kent Maine. Months went by (and I checked in a few times) but when I hadn’t heard a few months later, I decided to start taking steps to ensure I’d have enough work through the winter. I set up the Elance profile, beefed up my LinkedIn account, contacted anyone who might have leads for me, and bid on parts of larger projects with friends/colleagues.
by Nicole Ouellette | Sep 1, 2010 | Too Cute Tuesday
Every Tuesday, it’s friends, a craft, and a cocktail. To get involved,check out the Too Cute Tuesday archives, join Too Cute Tuesday on Facebook, or contact Nicole to start your own Too Cute Tuesday group (it’s free and fun, we just like to coordinate!)
It has long been a friend of Too Cute Tuesday Facebook friend Kate to visit Too Cute Tuesday in person in Bar Harbor. This week, she was able to make it happen on her vacation.
We tried to pick a craft that Kate could take home. I’m not sure who sent this in (so if you did, claim it in the comments and I’ll credit you in the post!) but I thought sailor bracelets were perfect. Nautical and something Kate could cherish forever… you know, until we started trying to make them.
Kate to her credit found a nautical themed cocktail to go with the mixers we had on hand. Heave-ho!
by Nicole Ouellette | Aug 31, 2010 | Marketing Monday
Every Monday, it’s an example of a business, non-profit, or website doing something interesting to promote itself online. Got an idea? Let me know!
Now I’m not a big fan on national cable companies but I thought how Time Warner is handling their Disney/ABC negotiations pretty interesting.
They are keeping customers informed via email.
I’ve gotten a few updates about the current negotiations via Time Warner Cable email (and yes, I opted not to receive anything extra). I haven’t unsubscribed because these emails aren’t frequent. Also in their favor is they tend to be short and all driving customers to another website if they want longer versions of anything:http://www.rolloverorgettough.com/
They are driving their customers to a separately branded website.
Time Warner needs to keep running its day-to-day operations going on their company website, and these cable negotiations are a small part of what it does. So, for this ‘campaign’ they’ve set up a different website for educational (and political) purposes. I appreciate how they have their company name in the sidebar (as in they aren’t pretending to be some third party group). But it is smart of them to keep their advocacy separate from their business, at least in terms of branding.
by Nicole Ouellette | Aug 28, 2010 | This Week In Business
I’ve gotten a few emails. “I miss your blogs!” I miss them too!
Last weekend, I was in a wedding in Massachusetts and, combined with being busy at work in general, updating my own blog often seems like something I want to do and don’t have time. Maybe when I get a smart phone in a couple months, it’ll be easier to do these things in transit.
Here’s what’s going on at Breaking Even Communications:
I moved my office into my living room.
I was most excited about my move from 220 square feet late last year precisely because I could have aseparateoffice and living area. There was really only one logical choice for my ‘office’.
Fast forward to months later. Why is my energy so low? My office had one small window behind me and it was not motivating to work in a cave.
So Imoved my desk to my living room(other office-y things like printer, stationary, etc. stayed in the old office). Yesterday morning, I watched a gold finch hover near a flower. I also got a ton of work done. For the whole separation of work and life, I might eventually get a screen to close off the area in the after hours but for the moment, this arrangement is working, and well.
Every Tuesday, it’s friends, a craft, and a cocktail. To get involved,
