W13 Reflection: Ranking, Link Building & Google Analytics

I never realized how much work and effort can go into making a website pop up in search results on Google. After the last few weeks, and seeing how much thought and effort can be required to help my content show up when people search for those keywords, I am learning to appreciate how complicated it can be to have a web business. Since I already have another web business, I was able to add the Google Analytics tracking tag to the website and starting tracking the data associated with my website visitors and what keywords offer the most conversions. I can see how it would be helpful to remove keywords for which I never receive conversions, because people are obviously searching for something different than what I offer when they use those specific keywords. I know that starting this new web business and learning to understand the data I am tracking is mostly about time and patience, but I sometimes wish I could just push the fast forward button to make things go a little more quickly.

W12 Reflection: Social Media for SEO & Social Networking

While the focus this week was all about social media and search engine optimization, what I learned about the most this week is balance. My kids are on spring break from school this week, so I had to manage my time a little more carefully so that I could accomplish all of my school work, but still spend quality time with them. I'm afraid I didn't do as well at it as I could have and tended to get frustrated with them, especially when they would start to argue and complain. I have another opportunity next week to do a little better, though. I need to remember that even though I'm working toward earning my degree while managing my own business, my main job is being a mother, and that means making time to make memories with my kids. I only have them at home for a few short years, and I need to make the most of that time. It won't hurt if I put a pause on my school work to play a game with them or take them to the park. I need to work on saying "Yes" more rather than always putting it off until later.

W11 Reflection: Landing Page Optimization & Basic SEO

One of the most important things I discovered this week was that I hadn't properly set up my Google Tag Manager. I didn't realize that you had to hit the publish button to make all your tracking tags go live, so I hadn't actually been tracking my conversion data. I got that figured out and things are finally working properly there. It was so interesting to learn about search engine optimization and how to make your website do better in searches. I need to work on getting all my pictures set up with alternate text and descriptions that include the most important keywords. That way, when people pin or share my images, the keywords will be included and will eventually lead people back to my site. I also finally had my first two email subscribers today, so that was kind of exciting. I am planning to get a couple more posts published in the next few days, so hopefully the variety of content will help to attract more visitors to my site.

W10 Reflection: ROI & Optimizing Ad Performance

This was an exciting week because I finally launched my Google Ads campaign and started getting some actual clicks from the ads I've created. While I do think this is a valuable learning experience, I think that launching a campaign a few months from now may be a better business move simply because I have such limited content available on my blog website. I need to create more content so that people can come to my site and stay awhile to browse. Right now there just isn't much content for browsing, so people may feel let down by what they see. I do think that the content I've already created has great value, and if people are specifically looking for a knitted hat pattern, or a tutorial to create a Disney autograph book, then they will be happy with what they find. I have so many great ideas for things to add, and I just need more time to be able to create the posts and set everything up. It's all coming along nicely and I think this could become a decent business, in time.

W09 Reflection: Relevance & Quality Score

This week, as I learned about Google Analytics, I realized what a great resource it will be for my website. Learning more about the people who visit my site, which pages they navigate to, and how long they stay, will help me to improve my content offerings, tailor my posts to fit more with the needs of my target demographic, and make my business better. I am excited about the capability to track file downloads, subscriptions, and clicks on affiliate links, because those are the metrics that will show whether my target market are actually interested in what I am sharing. I realize that it may take some time to build a following, and it will probably be best to let it grow naturally and as I have more content available for browsing. Integrating analytics and google ads into my site was surprisingly easy, and I hope that using them successfully will be just as easy.

W08 Reflection: Ads

I am so excited to be learning more about Google Ads and how to create successful ad campaigns. It seems like it will be a useful skill for building a business and getting a little more exposure and website visitors. I anticipate that one of the major challenges will be understanding my target market enough that I can anticipate what keywords and search phrases they will be most likely to use when searching for the kind of content that I offer. It might be helpful to talk to people who fit my target market and ask them what kinds of words they would use to try to find the content on my blog, and then I could use their answers as keywords in my ad. I also think that it will be something that I tweak as I learn more and figure out what is successful and what isn't. I am interested to figure out more about the negative keywords, as well, since those could also help filter out the people who may not be looking for exactly what I offer.

W07 Reflection: Google Ads & Keywords

One of the main things I learned during this lesson is how little I know about keywords and search engine optimization. I think it might be fairly challenging to find the right keywords and phrases to generation traffic to my site that will be reaching the right audience. I'm still not totally sure whether I should be directing people to my blog homepage with general keywords related to the overall content of my site, or to specific posts with more detailed keywords that are relevant just to that specific post. Perhaps having a mix would be helpful, but I need to learn more about how the ads will work and which method would be more beneficial. It will be a learning process to find out what kinds of posts appeal most and generate clicks from my target audience. I have lots of neat ideas that I want to share, but if no one is interested in reading them, then it isn't really worth the investment of time to create the content.

W06 Reflection: Legal Structure

Learning about legal structure this week was very interesting. I was amazed at the complexity of certain business structures, and that was just for my own state of Idaho. I'm sure other states may have even more complex rules and regulations for certain types of businesses. An online affiliate marketing business is pretty straightforward and uncomplicated, since I won't actually be selling and shipping products myself. For businesses that do sell a product or service, they would have to get set up for charging sales tax and then paying that sales tax to the state. All business owners have to pay income tax on their earnings, though the method can vary greatly depending on whether you are a sole proprietory, LLC, or corporation. I really appreciate the discussion boards to read the points of view of other students. Most of the time, I haven't thought of every idea and angle, so it's helpful to discuss our ideas and learn together. I can also see this type of learning as a benefit to having a business partner or board of directors.

W05 Reflection: Site Design

This week I researched a bit about website design and checked out a couple of my favorite blogs to look at similarities, what appeals to me, and how they use photos, links, and social media. I seem to be drawn toward sites with a simple background, usually white, with prominent, clear, and attractive photography. I like pops of color with a cohesive theme, so everything seems to coordinate and compliment each other. I want to employ those ideas into my own website. For this project, I will probably include a homepage that has an introduction with a photo, a blog page to display posts, a shop, and a contact page. In the future, I wonder if it would be better for the reader to land first on the blog post page and be able to navigate to whichever page they want, or just to read the most recent posts. Having the menu at the top seems like the best place, and including a search bar is also a useful tool. I am still figuring out how to best integrate affiliate links and want to research more about what kinds of things I can promote.

W04 Reflection: Site Builder & Hosting

This week I chose to use Bluehost as the host for my website. The purchase price was a little bit higher than I expected because I didn't want to pay for 2 or 3 years at a time, and so the monthly price was a little bit higher. It included a domain name and integrates well with Wordpress.org. I've spent quite a bit of time over the last couple of days building my website, including a little bit of branding and design. I haven't found the templates extremely easy to work with, though it could be because everything is just so new to me. I will take more time to play around with it and explore the capabilities of the site. I've already signed up to be an affiliate with Amazon and I'm trying to decide whether I should also get another affiliate. I'm excited to learn more about how to make an online business successful and I hope to learn a lot of new techniques.

W03 Reflection: Sourcing the Product

My eyes were really opened to the various business opportunities this week. Being introduced to the idea of drop shipping made me realize how vast the world of business really is. I have several ideas for things that might do well in a drop shipping business, though I haven't decided whether that is the route I will go for my online business this semester. I also learned a lot about affiliate marketing, which I've been kind of leaning toward for my online business. I think, if done well, affiliate marketing could be very effective, especially for monetizing a blog with great content. I have so many ideas for posts I could create for a blog and how to create affiliate links for it. I do think that it may take longer to realize great profits from affiliate marketing, but it seems like it could be something that might snowball and eventually do very well. I’ll just have to put in the work and effort to make it successful.

W02 Reflection: Choosing a Business

I am so excited about everything I'm going to learn in my Web Business Creation class this semester! My mind has been racing with a couple of different options for online business opportunities that I could pursue, and the tools I've discovered this week will be so helpful it my future endeavors. The keyword planner through GoogleAds seems like it will be a fantastic resource. I also love reading the posts of my classmates on the discussion boards because it shows me how much I can learn from having mentors from different backgrounds and interest. Their perspective can be so different from mine, and we can each be correct.
This week I also found out that I can use my existing online business as my advanced internship, rather than needing to go out and find an internship outside my home. I am so excited to use an internship to build my business and branch out into areas of marketing, product design and development, and further building my brand. I believe that the concepts I learn in this class will be a valuable base for launching into my internship in a future semester. And that is what I feel is most important, using these classes to apply the concepts to my real life, and building a better business.

Last Lecture

To those of you who have an entrepreneurial heart and are getting ready to begin your own journey, I would offer 3 pieces of advice. First, choose something about which you are truly passionate. Second, find a mentor who will be able to offer advice along the way, who can be your cheerleader and sounding board, and who likes you for you rather than your money or possessions. Third, evaluate what matters most in your life and set clear rules and boundaries for how you will behave in your career and how you will manage your time.

Finding something about which you are truly passionate may take a long time, or you may already know exactly what you’d like to do. In my own experience, I’ve found that if I think something is beautiful, interesting, or amazing, someone else is likely to consider it so, as well. The key to having your passion become a successful business is figuring out if someone would be willing to pay you to make or do something beautiful, interesting or amazing.

After about a year of running my small, online craft shop, I was blessed to get some great advice from an old friend. She told me, “Caitlin, you aren’t charging enough for your products. Your time is worth much more than what you’re charging. Not everyone can do what you do, and you could probably increase your prices by 100% and still have enough customers who are willing to pay it.” She works in marketing, so she definitely knew what she was talking about. I decided to follow her advice and I raised all my prices. That year, I made almost twice as much as I had the year before, and I was busier than ever. I just needed someone to say that I could do it! Finding a mentor who knows and understands what makes you tick, who will tell you what you need to know, even if you don’t always want to hear it, and who will still be your friend if everything falls apart, will be one of the greatest moves you can make.

Finally, I hope you can understand that money is not the most important thing in your life. It may be family, education, service, friends, religion, or any other good thing, but just acquiring money will not bring true and lasting happiness. Figuring out what is most important to you will help to shape your entrepreneurial journey and define your success. Setting boundaries that you won’t cross in any circumstance will help you to avoid the slippery slope of small infractions that can lead to life-altering decisions. Balancing your time so that you have enough time to focus on what is most important will keep your creativity from growing stale, and will help you to perform better in all aspects of your life.

Hopefully these three pieces of advice will help you as you begin, so that you can find fulfillment along the way, and avoid major heartbreak.

Balance: Work & Life

Something that has gradually been grabbing my attention this semester in  my business class is the idea that our lives are centered on our priorities, and that it can be difficult to stay true to the most important priorities in the face of great success. Many of the stories and examples we've read this semester bring out the fact that some of the entrepreneurs are divorced, or have poor family relationships. I think that this can happen when we let business and success crowd out the more important things and people in our lives. My highest priorities are my family and my religion. The way that these will stay my priorities is by setting clear boundaries on what I will and won't do in my business. "I will not work on Sundays." This is something that I, thankfully, have great control over. I don't have to work on Sundays to support my family, but it can be tempting to just get on the computer, or even on my phone, to answer a customer's question. But breaking my rule in a small way could eventually lead to me completely disregarding the rule all-together. My life could go in many different directions, based simply upon the small choices that I make consistently each day. I choose to include my Heavenly Father in my day-to-day activities, and focus on spending quality time with my family. I hope I won’t ever let success in business crowd out these most important things.

Purpose of Business

One of the most interesting articles that I read this week was Microlending: Toward a Poverty-Free World by Muhammad Yunus. He explained how the way we think about economics has influenced the way we view people, classifying some people as entrepreneurs, while categorizing others as fit for only labor. He says, "Today we would live in a different kind of world if economics had started out with the premise that all human beings are potential entrepreneurs, which they are. All that an individual needs is an opportunity." I've seen this firsthand in the lives of my daughters. If I give them the supplies, they will use their creativity to make something unique. As I'm typing this, my 5-year-old is gathering all the jingle bells in the house and comparing the tones they make with the bells that are attached to our Christmas stockings. That may not seem like something important to most people, but I know that she is developing an ear for music, and comparing tones like that will help her to sing better and closer to the tunes she hears. I think that as humans, we tend to look for opportunities for growth and creativity all around us. Yunus' article demonstrated his faith in people as he created a lending institution that gave small loans to the poor, those who couldn't qualify under the normal credit qualifications. He gave opportunities to people to help them get started on their financial journey. Sometimes, all we need is a little encouragement and opportunity.
He continued his article with his belief that we could create a poverty-free world, if we want to. We went to the moon! The only reason we don't have a poverty-free world is because people haven't come together in order to solve the problem.

Thoughts on the article What's a Business For?

Virtue and integrity are so vital to the economy because everything tends to fall apart when lying and deceit are brought to light. When the public finds out about a scandal, something like embezzling, stock prices drop and spending comes to a screeching halt. When business leaders short-change their company in the short-term, it affects many people for many years.

The real justification for the existence of businesses is not just to make a profit. It is to make a profit so that the business can then go on to do something more, or something better. That something can be any number of things, from giving back in some way, bettering the lives of it's customers, or even creating a company culture in which people enjoy working.

I agreed with the idea of creating a shorter work week. I've seen many businesses that have meetings  simply to have meetings. Nothing productive is discussed or decided on, but a meeting was scheduled, so they have the meeting. If the work week was less hours, those hours would likely be more productive, because people would be happier for having more time with their families, or spending time on hobbies that they enjoy. If you knew you only had 6 hours at work each day, you would probably be more motivated to accomplish the necessary tasks, rather than filling extra hours with fluff, or just counting time.

Another idea from the article that I could see working well is having a good portion of the seats on the supervisory board of a business reserved for the employees, rather than only management positions. This would help to bridge the gap between what the company wants to have done, and what is actually being done by those who accomplish the work. Needs could be explained, and a better consensus could be reached by knowing the entire picture.

Attitudes About Money

    This week, the lessons that stood out to me are how important it is to maintain a balance between family and work, as well as the need for quality rest. I think I do a decent job of maintaining a good balance between family and work, especially since I can just put my business on hold for however long is necessary. I have a rule that I never work on Sundays. At times, it is definitely tempting to answer a customer's question, or do a quick check, but it's more important to keep that day sacred and set apart from the rest of the week. I want my Sabbath day observance to send a clear message that I love the Lord, that I honor His day, and that there are more important things in my life than making money. 
    I've also tried to do a better job of balancing my daily tasks around my home with creative endeavors (work). I have a daily checklist of chores that need to be done, which motivates me to actually accomplish those tasks first in my day, and then, when I'm finished, the rest of the time can be spent doing things that I want to do. When my life is less chaotic and more organized, I find that I am more creative, and that I am able to focus on one task at a time much better.
   Quality rest is something that has become a bit of an endangered species. In today's technology-filled world, moments of quiet contemplation have been replaced with the latest game app or Facebook post, or constant texts being flung back and forth. Bedtime is forgotten and pushed back several hours as we get distracted by a trending story, the latest pin, or an inflammatory tweet. Contemplation, pondering, and true rest is essential to our spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being, and without it, we can become overwhelmed by work and daily to-dos.
  Finally, I was asked to contemplate the following questions:

• What is your attitude toward money?
• How can your view of money affect the way you live?
• What rules are recommended for prospering?

    I feel like money is definitely a necessary part of life, and something which we should be learning how to acquire and manage wisely. I recognize that money is necessary to live in the world today, especially if I want to serve others in any capacity. It's hard to focus on giving back if I'm constantly worrying about how I'm going to provide food, clothing, and shelter for my family. Recognizing that all blessings come from Heavenly Father helps me to not focus so much on acquiring as much money as I can, but to be able to earn enough to live comfortably, and then look for ways that I can use that money to bless the lives of others.
  Some of the rules that are recommended for prospering include planning how to become self-reliant, gaining education, keep the commandments, and serve those in need. If I learn how to use the money with which I'm blessed to become self-reliant, making wise and righteous decisions with that money, I will be able to live a fulfilling life, and help those who may not be so richly blessed.

Doing and Becoming

In recent months, as I've gained more experience managing my own business, I've come to understand something that I think is significant. It's not exactly profound, but I think it can be overlooked because it is so simple. Here is what I've learned: not everyone can do what you do, or even wants to do what you do, discovering something that you love to do and figuring out how to make money doing it will bring success and happiness. This light-bulb moment came for me as I interacted with a customer who wanted a custom designed birthday invitation. Creating the card took a minimal amount of time, and made me think about the fact that we may not see business opportunities because we don't realize that people are willing to pay for skills that we may find extremely easy. Not everyone can do what you do! I need to remember that as I expand my own business.
One of my favorite articles from my study this week is called The Challenge to Become by Elder Dallin H. Oaks. He says this, "The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts--what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts--what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become."
I read this quote during one of my institute classes last year, and it has been on my mind a lot recently. Ultimately, I want to be found worthy of eternal life, because I have become like the Savior. I want His image to be reflected in my countenance. I want people to recognize Him when they interact with me. I hope to be a true Christian, not just at church or when I go to the temple, but during my business dealings, while I'm driving on the freeway, when I encounter someone with whom I disagree, and when I experience difficulties. This road requires dedication and humility in order to learn how to be like the Savior, and ultimately to become like Him.

How to Lead

One of my favorite articles from my study material this week was an article by Kim B. Clark, former president of BYU-Idaho, called Leadership with a Small "L." The points that stood out to me were the three principles of leadership that we should apply in our lives. The first is Lead by Example. I feel like this principle is one that I learned quite suddenly, when I heard my small children first start saying something that I didn't realize I said often. My husband and I learned very quickly that we needed to be more mindful of what kind of example we were setting for our children (not that we were doing anything horrible, we just could have been doing better). They learn so much more quickly by observing what we do and say, rather than just listening to what we tell them they should be doing and saying.
The second principle is Lead with Vision. I feel like this principle encompasses the "why" of what I'm teaching my family. If my children don't understand the underlying reason behind what I'm asking them to do, they are much less likely to do it. For example, my younger daughter went through a phase of getting out of her carseat belt while I was driving. It wasn't until I explained the safety reasons, and the laws of the road, that she finally understood that she should stay in her carseat. It wasn't just that I wanted her to do it, she needed to know why it was important.
The final principle is Lead with Love. This is probably the most important. Ultimately, I want my children to feel loved, and to want to share that love with others. I want them to love going to church, to love the gospel, and to love the Savior. I know that I can teach them the right things to do as I minister to them in love.
I'm looking forward to learning more about leadership, and how to apply it not only in business, but in my home, as well.

Learning by the spirit

I have to say that taking classes through a church college is a vastly different experience than the one I had when I went to college after high school, over ten years ago. My study is filled with articles by church leaders, scriptures, and other inspirational literature. The entire experience has been quite uplifting, and I'm looking forward to this style of learning in future classes. Since we are encouraged to invite the spirit to be with us while we study and learn, I find that many of the things I learn while studying have absolutely nothing to do with the course material, and much more to do with my own personal struggles and my daily circumstances. I will have an idea pop into my head for how I can be a better mother, or something I can do to better serve in my church calling. I feel that these insights are just as important as whatever material I am studying for the class.

I feel like these thoughts struck me as I studied this week from conference talks, especially one by President Monson when he was first called to be the prophet after President Hinckley passed away called "Looking Back and Moving Forward." I felt, as I read, that he was teaching me that it is important to learn from, though not to obsess over, past experiences and struggles. I should use those as a springboard for jumping into a future that is hopeful and bright. Yes, more struggles are certain to come, but planning and preparation can help me to be ready, and to have a positive attitude when those trials come. I am looking forward to also implementing these ideas into my business life, as well. Not every product that I've designed has been a huge success. In fact, some have been complete failures. But I've probably learned more from the failures than from all the successes. I know that I can do better, and that drives me to be more creative, try new techniques, and branch out into new avenues. I am excited for the future of my business, especially once I learn all the tools that the business management program has to teach me!

Put First Things First

    This week, the focus in my class was on developing good habits, as outlined in 7 Habits for Highly Effective People by Steven R. Covey, as well as how to stay on the path to mastery as I finished reading Mastery by George Leonard. I've been impressed with the ideas that Leonard outlines in his book, and I have certainly seen areas in which I can improve myself and the way I approach my every day tasks. He basically says that in order to truly become a master, at any skill, the key is to stay on the path. The moment I decide that I've reached the finish line in any skill, and stop progressing, my skills will deteriorate, until I find myself back at where I started. He also suggested that a master's journey can be applied to any activity or skill, even the mundane tasks that tend to fill our days, like washing dishes, or doing laundry. If I decide to approach my life with that mindset, I can find satisfaction in a job well done, no matter how small the job may seem.
    Those ideas tied nicely into the 7 Habits for Highly Effective People, and the habit that jumped out to me as something I'd like to work on. The third habit is "Put first things first." Organizing myself and my schedule so that I have time for the most important things means that I will accomplish necessary tasks before they become urgent. I tend to be a procrastinator, but I know that I definitely do not do my best work when I'm rushed, so I'd like to focus more on putting first things first. Some days, that may require that I spend a large portion of my time folding laundry, or washing a pile of dishes, while other days it may mean taking time to play games with my children.
    I've found that I do my best when I take the time to create a list of tasks that I need to accomplish the next day. I have 3 different types of tasks: habits to develop or break, daily tasks, and to-do items that need to be done once. Having a small reward for checking off an item is a huge motivator for me, and having responsibility to others for whether I accomplish my tasks, or not, helps to keep me honest about how I do each day. I know that as I employ my daily checklist and focus on doing first things first, my life will be much more organized, and I will have the time and energy to serve more, and spend quality time with my family.