Before you spend $800 on a laptop, you do some research and find which one has the least amount of negative reviews. Then you look for discount codes and coupons so that the $800 laptop ends up costing only $699 with a 3 year extended warranty, which you really need because you need to replace your existing laptop after spilling a soy Chai latte on it after reading that HBO decided to renew Girls.

I hope that one day, I too can create a one-sided narcissistic portrayal of my faux life and get a 2nd season after only 3 highly criticized episodes, but I digress.

Doing your homework is vital for the solopreneur. There’s only one of you and maybe some minions or “interns”, so you need to use your time wisely. Doing research in advance helps limit time and money when you need to allocate resources to whatever it is that you want to do. For the sake of this conversation, we’ll focus on marketing.

Marketing is not free. You pay for it with time and eventually with money.

Even using social media costs you. Do you charge your clients by the hour? If so, then you know exactly how much you’re spending when you use Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. Maybe you’re using these sites because it’s what you’re “supposed” to do because “everyone in your industry” is doing it and that means you need to be there as well. The truth is you don’t have to do anything. You can sit back and wait for people to come to you.

Is it effective? It depends on your goals.

If you’re sitting outside your house, butt naked, with a clever sign then you might be effective at getting attention. Is it the right kind of attention for your business? Probably not. Yet sitting outside your house, naked with a sign, is about as effective as getting on social media with no strategy in place.

How does one come up with a strategy?

First you have to define the end goal. Your business is not a journey, it’s a destination. It’s as simple as that. Where do you want to be? Defining “point B” is the only way to ensure that you’ll get there. Without a destination, how will you know that you’ve arrived? The same goes with marketing.

Let’s say you offer consulting services. Your end goal may be to acquire 5 new clients each month or to reach 6 figure income by the end of the year. Personally, I like numbers. I was great in math and action steps become more concrete once dollar signs are attached.

What is your goal?

Come up with 1 goal that’s rooted in a number. When it comes to marketing, don’t use abstract goals. Now’s not the time for philosophizing all the things you would “like to do.” A strategy doesn’t work with what ifs. It works with real life.

Once you have your goal, break it down. If your goal is to secure new clients on a consistent basis then that’s where the homework part comes in. Where do the people you want to attract go to work and play? Group online places with offline.

If your prospective client goes to the gym then you might be better positioned to target them there instead of Facebook. If your prospective client is a good Christian lady, then scheduling your Tweets for Sunday afternoons may not be an effective approach to reaching her.

This is why it’s really important to do your homework because it is with this information that you will use to devise your strategy.

Working on your strategy is not something that can be done overnight. It takes time and planning so that you can pinpoint the most effective use of your time. You can do it yourself. Just be prepared to be OBJECTIVE, which often means stepping outside of your comfort zone so that your mind is open to see the bigger picture.

Or you can work with a strategist who helps keep you focused and on track with your goals, like me! [insert smiley face]

In the meantime, take some time to backup your site and then upgrade your current version to WordPress 3.3.2.

Cautionary tale alert. Don’t let this happen to you.

I had a site where I ignored the update notices. Weeks, months, almost a year passed. Still nada. I acted as if my site was awesome and when I went to install a plugin, poof, the white screen of OMG. In case you don’t know, the white screen of OMG is when you install a plugin and then you’re faced with a white screen. No text, no dashboard, essentially no site.

What happens now? Well you start by imaginary screaming at the top of your lungs: “OH MY GOD!”  No one heard except your inner voice and now she’s pissed you woke her up from a William Levy dream so she won’t be of much help. She’ll passive aggressively tell you how you suck and that this all your fault. She’ll project her anger towards you when what you really need is some guidance, reassurance and a savvy geek.

So now you’re stuck troubleshooting like you’re about to do some espionage International bank heist. If you’re not tech savvy, it’s worse. Instead of staying up to 3 in the morning deleting and re-installing plugins, you’re frantically asking everyone you know who may or may not know someone who knows something about FTP. Only to find that friends of friends don’t want to be called at 11pm by someone other than their number 1 and number 2 booty call.

So now you end up going to Craigslist or some other sketchy “can someone do this for me now and for cheap” classifieds site, hoping to find someone who’s first language is English and pray they’re a reliable night owl. All because you didn’t upgrade your WordPress site to the more secure version.

Moral of the story: If you think you’re above it all, cool. Sign-up for my Ninja Geek Club, so that when you’re stuck fixing your own site in the wee hours of the night, you’ll have some assistance to help you figure it out.

If not, then spend the extra 2 minutes to click on the “Please update now” hyperlink, at the top of your screen in your WordPress dashboard. It’s not that hard and it’s really in your best interest to do so.

For more information on the update, check out the details below.

WordPress 3.3.2 is available now and is a security update for all previous versions.

Three external libraries included in WordPress received security updates:

• Plupload (version 1.5.4), which WordPress uses for uploading media.
• SWFUpload, which WordPress previously used for uploading media, and may still be in use by plugins.
• SWFObject, which WordPress previously used to embed Flash content, and may still be in use by plugins and themes.

WordPress 3.3.2 also addresses:

• Limited privilege escalation where a site administrator could deactivate network-wide plugins when running a WordPress network under particular circumstances.
• Cross-site scripting vulnerability when making URLs clickable.
• Cross-site scripting vulnerabilities in redirects after posting comments in older browsers, and when filtering URLs.

Source: WordPress.org

Knowing who your audience is can be the difference between success and failure. You are building an online brand. Part of the process is identifying who you want to speak to. Whether you’re a blogger, service provider or consultant, your ideal client will tell you how to best reach them.

You can’t be effective in marketing without knowing who you are targeting. It sounds simple but it’s not. You see, your demographic is different from mines. Even though we may be addressing the same people, how we position our brands is what sets up apart. That’s what makes you different.

Here’s how you can identify your ideal target market.

Who do you WANT to work with?

Some may say to find an audience that’s being overlooked or underserved. I don’t think this is the best way to approach it. Why? Because what if the “best” demographic aren’t the ones you want to work with? Will you be happy working with a client who’s not the kind of client that you want to work with? If you’re not happy, will you do your best work?

Sometimes, it’s ok to make it about you. If you don’t then why will your client want to work with you over someone else? You’re choosing to be a blogger or service provider or consultant. By simply choosing this path for yourself, you’ve already taken the leap into “I want” territory. When you’re identifying your ideal client or audience, don’t lose sight on that. At this point it’s not about them, it’s about you.

How do you WANT to work with them?

Now that you know the “who”, it’s time to pinpoint the how. Because this is your life, it’s up to you to define the terms upon which you want to live by. How you execute your brand is entirely up to you and your imagination. If you want to work virtually from an Alaskan igloo, more power to you. If you want to work remotely from a beach house on Puerto Rico then call me so we can do brunch!

You have to be comfortable setting the terms for how you want to craft your brand. Forget what you “should” do. If you are going to be thinking about “shoulds” then what you “should” do is the safe thing which is most likely not what you’re doing now. Today I’m giving you permission to be selfish. Act as if anything were possible and put your state of mind in that realm of possibilities.

Once you have your ideal target market, you have to ask a few key questions.

• Where do they hang out? I’m not talking just about Facebook.
• What do they like to do?
• What are their hobbies?
• How would they like to spend their weekends?

Envision who they are and create a profile. If it helps, visit iStockphoto.com and look at some stock photos. Type in keywords that are descriptive of who they are. Suburban busy mom, friendly professional woman, etc. It might be useful to get a visual on them, as you’re crafting this profile.

The reason why you are doing this profile is so that you can start manifesting them for your brand. Think of it like a geeky modern version of Weird Science, only without the barbie doll and pinup magazine and illegal house party.

By this point you should know who you want to work with and how you want to work with them. Now let’s identify the best marketing tactics so that you’re best able to reach them in a meaningful way.

Susie is a freelance life coach, who blogs about wellness and fashion. She loves working with clients to clear their mental junk so that they can be their most fabulous self. Her ideal client is a woman in her mid20s who’s in the process of figuring out what they want do. They like hanging out with their girlfriends, often times for brunch on weekends.

Susie also works well with recent college graduates in major metropolitan cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. On her spare time, she finds shopping deals and shares them with her blog readers. Susie is rooted in this philosophy that when you feel good about how you look, you have a better clarity into who you want to become.

She offers in-person and phone coaching sessions. She also distributes a weekly newsletter to her clients with affirmations and accountability tasks.

Susie knows who she wants to work with and how.

Marketing tactics that would work well for her include:

• Reach out to college career centers. Create a guide specifically for them such as “5 things to consider as you graduate into the real world.”
• Connect with sororities. Foster a relationship with them and tap into their national network.
• Partner with a local boutique and offer a 30 minute seminar/session about how certain wardrobe choices can bolster self-esteem.
• Customize a laptop cover with your information and dedicate at least 2 hours per week to work at a Starbucks, or local cafe, that is located near your town’s fashion district.
• Host a meetup for bloggers who write for stylish college graduates in flux.

These are just a few suggestions to show how selecting the right marketing tactics is contingent upon knowing what you want to do, how you want to do it and for whom. At the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide the kind of relationship you want to build with the people you want to engage your brand with.

Once you know the “who” and “how”, you’re well on your way to selling the “why.”

If you have a WordPress site, you don’t have to anymore. In the spirit of “there’s an app for that” I’d like to say there’s a plugin for that.

From the WPMU Dev premium site comes “Fundraising”, a  Wordpress-based plugin for creating and managing fundraising campaigns. Features include:

• Integrates with PayPal. Create suggested donation levels or let them choose their own, includes recurring donations, and accept payment in any major currency.
• Hassle-free interface. Creating your new fundraiser is as simple as adding a new post to your WordPress blog.
• Offer rewards for donations: downloads, tshirts or more. Motivating folk to donate has never been easier.
• Thank you message. Use the default confirmation email after donation or customize your own to easily send a thank you and tax receipt.
• Widgets included. Easily display simple donation button, recent fundraisers and featured fundraisers in any widgetized area of your site.
• Compatible with any WordPress theme. Customize the style and layout of your fundraising to fit with your existing site design.
• Monitor your donations and fundraising goals, including a progress bar, from your WordPress dashboard, with the option to display public fundraising goals and progress on your site.
• Works perfectly with Multisite and BuddyPress.

For more information visit the official plugin page here: http://premium.wpmudev.org/project/fundraising

Flickr photo source: seanmcmenemy

One of the reasons why I love spring is because it feels like everyone is happy. We can go out without sweaters. Sitting indoors behind a laptop just feels wrong. So we go to the park or just random places where random strangers can congregate. I’ve always thought to myself “how can I maximize a pretty day when I’m a solopreneur?”

I love technology. Innovations give us opportunities that would otherwise not be available, at least not without a enterprise level budget. Two technologies that are on my wishlist include Square  and Paypal Here – mobile payment solutions for the spring gal who wants to work from anywhere, literally. Imagine sitting at a local hip cafe, having a sign on your laptop saying the [fill in the blanks with your title] is in and being able to take clients on the spot?

There’s food trucks that sell restaurant-grade meals from corner streets, so why can’t I set up shop from a park bench? 

Both Square and Paypal Here are pretty cool. I have no preference at this time. It might be best to have both since there are some people still resistant to using Paypal. Either way, the options are limitless. I love having variety and with warm weather in the horizons, what better way to kick Seasonal Affective Disorder to the curb and increase my revenue in the process.

Flickr photo source: JD Hancock

Ideas are a dime a dozen. To hang your hat on something “unique” may not be the best approach. After all, how unique is an idea?

Concepts are not that special, by themselves. What gives them their mojo are the people who execute on them. I’m not the only web designer, marketing strategist or business coach out there. So what makes what I do stand out? For me, I use my personality and I integrate it into everything I do.

• I’m snarky.
• I like to give people information.
• I’m optimistic.
• I love options.

So I take these aspects of who I am and I create a brand around these core values. I package it with the services I offer so that I attract clients who want to leverage their online brands in a fun and engaging way. My style is not for everyone and I’ve accepted that.

When redefining your market, these are the things to consider.

What distinguishes you apart from others?

Take inventory of your personality and style. What do your friends know you for? Are you organized? Are you outgoing? These personality traits are key selling points for when you’re positioning yourself among your competitors. Take a minute to look at your space.

Who’s doing what you’re doing?

If you’re a blogger, scoop out some other bloggers. There’s only so many times one can blog about fashion and relationships and most readers aren’t reading because your content is ground-breaking. They’re invested in you, the person, the voice behind the site.

Execution is key.

Take a minute to take stock of how you do what you do. Could you be doing it differently? If you are service provider, could you do something other than in-person sessions? Diversifying how you deliver the goods can help make you seem “different” in a game where everyone’s essentially the same.

With a out-of-the-box approach to executing your blog, services, products, etc – you could end up defining a brand new market. Some ideas include:

• A life coach who offers daily affirmation delivered via email. That’s 365 positive quotes, pre-scheduled on an auto-responder.
• A blogger who offers weekly advice (fashion, makeup, relationship, marketing tips) via a paid newsletter, priced at $5 a month.
• A writer who  breaks up their book into a membership website, where readers login to a dedicated area, so they can get a full immersive experience.

Own it.

Part of defining your brand is owning the audience that you’re speaking to. This is the hard part because reality sinks in and you may find that your core audience is smaller than you anticipated. Gone are the days of appealing to everyone. It just doesn’t work anymore, not that it worked all too well back then.

Owning your market takes a commitment to respecting their needs and responding to them.

• If you’re a blogger, who are you talking to?
• If you provide services, do they want what you’re offering?
• If you sell merchandise, why should they buy your products?

Step outside of your comfort zone and have a heart to heart with yourself. If you’re happy with the answers, then maybe you should revisit the drawing board and work backwards.

• Instead of asking who you are talking to, ask who do you want to talk to.
• Instead of asking if your clients want what you’re offering, ask what do they want.
• Instead of asking why should someone buy from you, ask what do they want to buy.

Whichever questions you end up asking, make sure the answers are aligned with your own interest. There’s no point in building a brand based on something that is not your passion. For that, you might as well go back to a cubicle job!

Flickr photo source: SteveD.

In Colombia, prostitution is not illegal, in some parts. They understand the ridiculousness of forbidding two consenting adults from exchanging money for sex. People dating do it all the time, and let’s not get into married couples. “Til death do us part” better include blow jobs especially when one is the main breadwinner.

Yet, the Secret Service, or rather the Not So Secret Service, are above such behaviors. It’s inappropriate for Secret Service to solicit the services of a working girl. Just because you cross borders doesn’t mean your morals should be checked at the airport gate.

You represent the United States gentlemen, and skimping out on your check is a slap in the face to the citizens of this fine country.

Tisk tisk.

I had publicly complained, and secretly cried, about why Instagram is not on the Android platform. I’m a creative person and I wanted to be cool. I wanted to put filters on my photos like anyone else. Nothing says chic like a sepia-toned dish of couscous and chicken.

Now granted, I also have Adobe Photoshop installed on my laptop. I can accomplish the same effect in minutes, probably much better too. However, that would require extra steps. That would require taking the picture, transferring it to my laptop, loading up Adobe Photoshop, opening up the file in Photoshop and then working my magic.

This would be problematic for many reasons, the main one being that I would end up spending 3 hours creating the filter because there would be so many options for me to choose from that I would get sidetracked on this one photo project. It essence, it becomes a chore. It becomes one more thing to do. In my life time is of the essence, so while may seem like shortcuts, they’re really energy savers – kind of like lightbulbs.

Who doesn’t want to be eco-friendly?
Well who doesn’t want to be time efficient-friendly?

The one thing we learned from the Instagram purchase is that value is not in the eyes of the “valuee” but in the eyes of the “valuer” (and yes I made those words up). As solopreneurs, we tend to place value on how we perceive it to be. If we have low self-esteem, our value is low. If we have high self-esteem, our value is high. We attract what we put out. So when we undervalue our time and expertise, it’s because we’ve chosen to allow others to define our value differently.

Was Instagram worth $1 billion dollars? That’s not for me to decide. I don’t own Facebook, nor do I own any stock in their company. I do notice that those who perceive themselves as having high value will value those around them to their standards. Facebook has a high self-esteem. It’s not logical that they would value a competitor to the same benchmark that they hold for themselves. Sure, it’s a solution that Facebook could have done in-house. They could have, but if you can find a more efficient way of accomplishing your goal, why not take it?

Identifying your value requires putting yourself in the shoes of those who will value what you do. Defining your value is a careful and strategic process to figuring out which clients, customers and readers you want to attract. Until then, your energy is scattered and you’re not bringing in the people who will help bring out the best you.

The key to high value is in positioning yourself with those who value what you offer.

How are you valuing yourself? Your time? Your services? Your products? Your words? Your expertise?

No wonder the Mayans have us pegged for death later this year. If they knew, back then, how low we would allow religion to bring our society, I’d put a big X on humanity as well.

In Texas, the bible belt of the Apocalypse, a woman was fired for committing the cardinal sin of allowing sperm (from her soon-to-be betrothed) to permeate her ovarian wall. I got chills just thinking about that unjustly action. Repeat after me: What a bitch!

No worries though. Her punishment: a one-way ticket to the unemployment line, because an unwed pregnant fiance represents all that is evil in this world.

Welcome to 2012, where women are vilified for being women. The only unwed pregnancy that gets a pass is that of a woman in a blue robe, the wife of a carpenter, who “immaculately” got knocked up in what I can only understand to be the original Paranormal Activity prequel. Not the crap we have now of dogs and babies getting spooked at 3am. You know what’s scarier than being dragged out of your bed in the middle of the night by some unknown force, getting knocked up by said unknown force and having to not only keep the child but raise it without your man, who no doubt looks at you with the side eye now.

But I digress. After all, this is the United States of Insanity and in Texas it is well within the employer’s right to terminate an employee who’s not representing their values and principles properly. Oh well, guess you can’t win them all.

Now that I think about it, it seems like they aborted her. Oh the irony….

All too often, solopreneurs don’t like to be pigeon-holed. We struggle with this all the time. Never is it as much of an issue as when we’re crafting our business card. “Do I put CEO or Founder? What about Entrepreneur? But wait I do the job of 5 different people so shouldn’t I be Senior VP of Creative and Digital Operations slash Marketing slash Sales slash Fluffer?”

Seriously, sometimes it’s not that serious.

What is serious is understanding what kind of future you want to create for yourself. Freelancers, for the most part, are contracted professionals kind of like a hitman or assassin. Whereas a small business owner would be the equivalent of a Madam for a brothel. I hope putting these two analogies help put your title into perspective.

The fundamental difference between a freelancer and small business owner is mainly in the structure of your operations. While a freelancer and small business owner can work from anywhere, specialize in whatever field they want and select those customers they prefer to work with – there are still significant differences.

Freelancers tend to work solo. Like a hitman, they tend to not work well with others. That doesn’t mean they can’t but they are much more effective working by themselves. They are highly skilled in their expertise and when left to their own devices, can work some powerful magic to your bottom line.

Small business owners, often hire others to help complete the task at hand. Imagine one (1) madam filling the needs of all the local men entering her salon. A small business owner may have employees or they may outsource to various specialists. They are less hands on with the actual work itself because they are too busy lining up a steady flow of clientle.

As someone who’s freelanced for several years, I find myself transitioning into a small business owner. This is a natural and common progression for freelancers. For some, you may feel like it’s time to step it up and grow. However, for some freelancing is perfectly fine.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to your personal goals and working style. Just be clear and honest with yourself about which track is most appropriate for you and your personality.