First off, let me say that I love Carbonite and have it installed on both of our computers. It’s a great way to really have a “set it and forget it” offsite backup. I’m a big believer in having redundant backup processes, so Carbonite as my “stored elsewhere” backup is a great comfort to me.

However, recently I was the victim of a very complex virus attack. Despite having every precaution in place, I caught an insidious virus that basically copied all of my important files (including a .doc file of passwords, my Roboform data folder, all of my photos, etc) and placed them in a separate user account where they were accessed remotely.

Excuse my language, but this past month has been hell on Earth for me computing-wise. Nearly 400 passwords needed to be changed (imagine doing THAT for a two weeks straight) and I still don’t know the extent to what was stolen.

Whew! Anyway, back to Carbonite. I wasn’t too concerned at first when my computer was basically haunted by this virus, would freeze up and shut down on it’s own. My theory was, “Hey, I have Carbonite so all of my files are safe!”

Well, ALMOST all of them were.

Remember how I called Carbonite a “set it and forget it” process? Not exactly….as much as I love Carbonite and religiously make sure it’s updated and working for me, I was not aware of a very important piece of fine print regarding file types that Carbonite will and more importantly, WON’T backup by default unless you specifically tell it to.

See, I was under the impression, as I think many people are, that if you select a folder for backup, then all of the sub-folders and files are automatically selected as well.

That actually is the case, UNLESS you have files of different file types (extensions) which Carbonite does NOT automatically backup. Among these, to my great surprise, VIDEO FILES!

How many of you have video files mixed into your Pictures sub-directory in your Documents and Settings folder? Probably many of you. I would imagine that most people who have a digital camera with a video mode have probably dozens or even hundreds of these files on their computers.

The kicker is….Carbonite doesn’t automatically back them up, even if they are in a “backed up” folder. It just skips over them. So you may THINK your video files are backed up along with your regular photos, but they aren’t…unless you tell Carbonite specifically to do so.

Luckily, I caught this before there was a major disaster. But how many people still don’t have their file types setup to include video files? Probably most. So here’s how to tell Carbonite to back up video files:

1. Go into a folder on your computer where video files are located.

2. Right-click on a video file and select, “Properties” and then select the “Carbonite” tab. Then select, “Back up files of this type within folders selected for backup”.

3. Then, make sure your upper-most level folders that have video files are selected for backup. By default, Documents and Settings in Windows is backed up, but if you are storing files elsewhere on your main drive, be sure to select a top-level folder to make sure everything below it is being backed up.

4. Check your folders and make sure there is an orange dot next to your video files. If you’re really in a panic over this, right-click on the video files individually and selected “back up this file as soon as possible” to push it up in queue.

Think you have Carbonite figured out now? Guess what? There’s more….I have two more SUPER IMPORTANT things you probably don’t know about Carbonite that I need to tell you in my next post so be sure to stay tuned for it. They both highlight two MORE exclusions that most Carbonite users don’t know about that could make or break your backup.

Come back in the next day or so for more….and pass this on because so many people use Carbonite and love it, but I think you can only truly trust your backup system when you know it inside and out.

P.S. For a “heads up” on my next Carbonite warning post, why not follow me on Twitter?
http://www.twitter.com/jenknox

So your school-aged kids have started school for the year! Great! But are your younger kids missing their older brothers and sisters? Are you already having a hard time occupying them now that their siblings are away at school all day?

Here’s a neat guide that might help. I came across this guide titled, “Fun Kids Crafts” which has complete instruction and supply sheets (with photos!) for over 700 craft projects suitable for kids three years old and up.

This downloadable guide has almost 400 pages full of craft ideas, templates, instructions and photos. There are holiday-specific crafts, crafts for very young kids and tons of unique crafts that can be done with common items found around the house.

Need something to occupy kids on a teacher workshop day or a snow day? These activities are perfect for those “crafting emergencies” when you need to keep the kids entertained and engaged for longer periods of time.

This guide is a downloadable ebook, so you can order it any time of day and have instant access to all of its contents. They even offer three free sample craft sheets so you can see what the instruction sheets are like! If you do nothing else, at least go and download those three free craft sheets, because you never know when you might need them! The cost of the book is so small compared to all of the sanity-saving ideas you get…just $24 and you also will receive three bonus books in addition to the book of 700 crafts!

Check out Fun Kids Crafts here and have it handy for the first teacher worshop day! You’ll thank me later!

I’ve talked a lot on this site about topics that pertain to small business owners because I am one myself and know plenty of moms who also own businesses. Sometimes though, it can be tough working from home. The isolation of being with kids all day, the lack of real human contact and conversation, and just the general feeling of “cooped-upped-ness” that working from home can sometimes create.

About two years ago, I decided that I needed a “Mom Posse” of likeminded moms who work from home and really enjoy it and support each other. I was so fortunate to find a ready-made posse of moms at all stages of their business journey. That group is Mom Masterminds.

Mom Masterminds is a fantastic members-only group for moms who own small businesses or otherwise work from home. We support each other, we guide each other and we occasionally give each other a butt-kickin’ to get goals accomplished!

What attracted me to Mom Masterminds originally was the tremendous amount of resources and learning tools that are included with the membership. While I had already been a business owner for almost ten years at that point, I’m always on the lookout for more resources and learning opportunities. So I joined and feverishly read, absorbed and downloaded as much information as I could. It was a great motivational tool for me to know that I was now part of a group to whom I had to be accountable! Plus, the members were so nice and I made friends fast!

Now, I’ve been a member since September of 2006 and I visit every single day…sometimes multiple times per day just to see what other people are working on or to ask for advice or guidance. It’s great knowing that even though I work at home, alone (unless you count a 10-month old as a co-worker!) I don’t have to BE alone in my journey as a business owner. Sometimes we talk about family and relationship issues and how they pertain to our businesses. Sometimes we talk about how to promote a new product, or design a site, or fix a broken blog….sometimes we talk about how to tweak a salesletter, or how to upgrade software on a site or how to fix a buggy computer.

Whether the topics are about technical stuff, marketing, writing, sales, web design, blogging, handling the finance side of a business…whatever….my girls at Mom Masterminds are always there ready to help!

I’m going to be talking a bit over the next few days about some of my friends from Mom Masterminds and highlighting how they have built successful businesses from home. Hopefully, their stories will inspire you to either start on the journey to running your own business or kick your butt into gear to take your current business to the next level. I hope you’ll stay tuned for these amazing stories!

In the meantime, Joining Mom Masterminds has never been easier or more rewarding….starting August 8, 2008 the membership structure of Mom Masterminds will be changing. From the beginning, once a member was active for a certain number of months, they were able to stay a member indefinitely at no additional cost. Currently, if you are a Mom Masterminds member, and you are an active paid member for 18 months, you get to stay a member FOREVER at no additional charge. Here’s the thing….that’s changing on August 8th.

Join AFTER August 8th and you’ll still have access to amazing resources, the lively forum and all future content, BUT the fee is continual rather than it stopping after 18 months. HOWEVER, the monthly fee also DROPS under this new plan, so it’s more affordable than ever to be a Mom Masterminds member!

So whether you join now, or after August 8th, just JOIN! Check out Mom Masterminds now!

Technorati Tags: small business, WAHM, work from home mom, work at home mom, small biz, membership sites, small business resources

NOTE: This review was originally posted in 2008. Now, in 2010, I’ve made some edits to reflect some changes in pricing and offers. By the way, as of November 2010 it will be TEN YEARS I’ve been their customer! I still reccommend them every single day to someone and have found the service to only improve year after year. If you have questions, submit them in the comments section! Plus, be sure to read all the way to the end for a special discount offer!

In an effort to help Moms (and Dads, for that matter) who are running small businesses from home, I’d like to take a moment to challenge your current way of doing things for a moment.

How many of you are doing what you are doing because you don’t know how to do it any other way? What I mean is, are you settling for less than what you really want because a lack of knowledge or a fear of change are holding you back?

I’m so surprised every time I hear that someone with a small business is paying for a service or a product that is expensive or has fewer features simply because they are afraid to make the jump to something else. Even when they are dissatisfied, they stay put. Maybe I’m just one of those people who is willing to try most anything and I don’t have that concern about staying with something that isn’t working exactly the way I’d like. But I’d like to challenge all of you who own businesses to take a step outside of your current strategy and see if you can make small, incremental improvements in your business by trying something new.

The one area that I see this in particular is web hosting. I’ve been hosting sites for myself and others for well over ten years, probably longer than some of my readers have even been online or used email!

I know there are MANY people who are paying much more than they need to and receiving fewer features and perks that can make their businesses run more efficiently. It pains me to say this, but if you haven’t considered a web hosting switch ever, and are staying with another company despite knowing you can do better elsewhere, you are making a huge mistake.

Maybe you are afraid of changing hosts because you don’t know how to do it from a technical standpoint….how to switch your email, move your domain, transfer files etc. I TOTALLY understand your concern about that because it can be a daunting task if you have never done something like that before or have many sites and large amounts of data that need to be moved.

On the flip side, if you are a smaller business and expect growth in the coming months, this might be the PERFECT time to get your hosting house in order, so to speak, and get set up with a company that can grow with you and give you what you really need as a growing business.

Part of running an efficient business, household or family is anticipating obstacles and planning ahead. If you are just starting out or planning to expand an online business, this is the time to put systems in place to keep it manageable, healthy and efficient.

FINALLY, a solution…..

To that end, let me start by advising you if you are either just starting out hosting a site or sites or plan to expand in the next few months (I’ll get to you later if you already have an online empire you are intimidated to move): Start evaluating your hosting options now before it becomes difficult to switch later. And here’s a place to start and my recommendation: Dreamhost. I’ve been with them for nearly 8  (10 years, now) years and believe me, I evaluated (and continue to evaluate) my hosting options before spending a penny. They are simply the best value for the dollar and never cease to amaze me with what they can do.

Just as a quick summary of what I’ve enjoyed as their customer:

1. Free domain name registration with all new accounts. They even renew it for free every year you are still their customer. It’s your domain and you can take it with you if you don’t renew with Dreamhost though.

2. I can host an unlimited number of sites, both top-level domains and sub-domains. I currently have 40+ sites of my own hosted by Dreamhost in addition to many sites I operate for others. I also have over 500 sub-domains and I pay the same monthly fee for hosting I would pay if I only ran one site.

3. I can install software on my site in just one click. They’re called “one-click installs” and they’re awesome. WordPress (the software that runs AutomaticMoms), PHPbb, Pligg, Gallery, ZenCart, OpenX, Joomla, and more! Just enter a few items into a form and in less than 5 minutes your software is on your site ready to be played with!

4. I get technical support and customer service in plain English from nice people. When I submit a support request, I can tell them in advance what level of understanding I have on a subject and they reply in a way that makes sense to me. Most importantly, they are friendly and respectful and never make me feel dumb for not knowing how something works. They’re fast too!

5. The price is right and the features grow with my site. Dreamhost starts at just $5.95 a month and you receive 500GB of of disk space, tons of bandwidth and more. The best part? My account grows every week for free! So as my sites and needs grow, so does the amount of disk space and bandwidth at no additional charge. Dreamhost knows that sites don’t get smaller…only bigger, and they accomodate that need for me for free and without my having to do anything. Brilliant. (**Pricing now starts at $8.95/month but disk space and bandwidth are now unlimited.)

6. They listen to me and other Dreamhosters and actually take our suggestions to heart and make things happen. This is a very democratic company…they ask for and implement suggestions all the time. The Dreamhost you experience today will be nothing like the Dreamhost you experience six-months from now…it will be bigger and better and that’s due to suggestions from people who use the service every day.

7. Reliable much? Yeah! I’m been very pleased with their reliablity, speed and uptime. No complaints here! They’re on top of the whole technical thing so I can get down to business doing what I do. I think of them as almost like my personal IT team ready to keep things running smoothly.

SPECIAL OFFER ALERT….READ ON!

As my loyal reader, I’ve created a special offer for anyone interested in switching to Dreamhost:

Use the promo code: AUTOMATICSPECIAL (exactly like that, no spaces) and you will receive from me:

~ $50.00 instant coupon toward your new hosting account! It’s an actual account credit!
~ The free domain name registration that all new customers receive!
~ One ADDITIONAL domain name registration as my gift from me to you!

To take advantage of this deal head over to Dreamhost and use the coupon code: AUTOMATICSPECIAL and you’ll receive all of these goodies! Everything you need to switch, save money and expand your online empire to your heart’s content! Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: hosting, web hosting, webhosting, Dreamhost, hosting review

I mentioned a few months ago about a great easy personalized gift and thought I would post a little reminder about Mother’s Day coming up on May 11th. There’s still time to order your own personalized engraved cake pan for Mom, Grandma, the New Mom in your family or even for yourself.

Here’s the original post, but I plucked some more graphics from the CaptainPantastic.Com site that are specific to Mother’s Day for you:

    A basket pan filled with flowers would be great for any Mom!  These pans come in bold colors to match kitchen decor as well as the raw aluminum finish.

    Each pan also has the name engraved on the bottom of the pan     itself to make it easy to match lids with pans at a potluck!

    I really like this pan! The inscription says, ”Made with Care…and Made to Share” 

   You can also get this one without the heading at the top, and   instead have just the first name engraved in the lower left corner.

There are even more great pans perfect for Mom on the site…

 
What I love about this gift idea is that it’s SUPER easy, but it looks like you went through a lot of trouble. It’s as simple as filling out a form and the pans are on their way!

So if you plan to purchase one for Mother’s Day, order SOON to make sure you get them in time!

Technorati Tags: Mother’s Day gift, Mother’s Day, easy gift ideas, personalized cake pans, engraved cake pan, personalized engraved cake pan, last-minute gifts

 This one is for my fellow small business owners….and it’s going to save you a ton of money and time!

I currently operate about 30 different websites in all different niches, but I’m working on a site now that will require my ability to take payments from advertisers, so I needed a way of making the payment, verification and communication tasks easy and integrated.  

Anyone who is running a business online knows that there seem to be a million moving parts that you need to get into alignment before you can really launch a successful website. Add in accepting payments, signing up affiliates for an affiliate program and running multiple newsletters and you can see how complicated an endeavor it can become.

I was looking for a solution that would allow me to integrate everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) from payments, to autoresponders, to shopping carts, coupons, an affiliate program, a membership module, a knowledgebase, a support center, and more. Fat chance right? But guess what? I think I *actually* found what will work, and boy is it cool!

I’ve been testing TotalMarketer.Com , and at first, I was skeptical of their claim that you can run your entire business from one system. Once I poked around their site though, I saw that the developers had really thought of everything.

For many years I have pieced together a system that works pretty well….I have an autoresponder service, a shopping cart service, a payment processing service, a support ticket system and more. The problem is that it’s difficult to INTEGRATE these systems so that they work together and talk to each other. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to have to troll the support forums or hire a programmer every time I want to make one script or program talk to another one. I’ve done that for years, and it’s exhausting and saps my productivity!

This system, TotalMarketer has ALL of these features (get ready, it’s a long list!):

~Unlimited Autoresponders with Unlimited Follow-Ups and Broadcasts
~Affiliate Management System (that runs 1-tier or 2-tier affiliate programs)
~Domain Name Integrator (so all emails and other references point to your own URL)
~Digital Product Download Manager (with protection and expiring download links)
~Membership Management System (password protect and sell access to unlimited directories on your site)
~Ad Tracking System (keep track of ads you have placed and track their performance)
~Customer Support Manager (with support ticket system and knowledgebase)
~Tell a Friend System
~Unlimited Shopping Carts
~Sell Unlimited Products
~Provide custom sales tools (banners, ads, links) for affiliates
~Coupon system (offer coupon codes to give discounts to customers)

…..and much, much more……this list consists of just the basics because there are LOTS of little features within these features.

I know what you’re thinking: A system like this is going to cost a bundle isn’t it? Ready for a shocker? It’s only $19.95/month! (This is where you need to start breathing again, by the way!) Seriously, twenty bucks!

The $19.95 level allows for 15,000 subscribers (meaning autoresponder subscribers and customers). If you have more than 15,000 subscribers, first of all congratulations, and secondly, it will cost you a bit more. Their most expensive package is still only $39.95 per month for 35,000 subscribers. It’s a steal no matter what!

I’m going to warn you about one thing though: These are listed as introductory prices, so I’m not sure how long these prices will still be valid. I checked with Barry Richardson, owner of TotalMarketer, and he told me that if you sign up at the lower introductory price, your cost will remain the same no matter what the price is increased to. So, in effect, your price is locked in which is awesome!

I’ve had to ask Barry a question or two as I’ve been setting up my own use of the system and he is very responsive and answers questions very quickly. The same support ticket system that is included with the TotalMarketer package is used to also handle support by Barry and it’s very user-friendly.

One thing that I really love about this system, is that you can use it on more than one site for just one monthly fee. What a savings! I also love that you are able to setup the sale of physical products that you ship to someone, digital products that are downloaded online (or a service) and also memberships. When you setup a membership site to sell access to, the system provides all the files you need to protect the folder on your site where your membership resides. You just upload three files to that folder, and your folder is protected. Then, when someone wants to join the membership site, a username and password is generated that gives them instant access to the protected area of your site. If they cancel their membership, their username and password is cancelled as well. So easy!

If you want to check it out, I highly recommend doing so quickly before Barry raises his price…seriously, even a $10 increase per month would still be a steal, but why pay $120 a year more than you have to?

Click here to check out TotalMarketer! I’ve been very pleased with their service and it will save me so much time and money this year! I’ll follow up with a regular update on how it’s working for me, but so far I am beyond pleased!

Technorati Tags: shopping cart, coupon system, affiliate program manager, affiliate module, autoresponders, membership manager, support tickets, help desk

My friend, Kristine McKinley is a CPA and a small business owner, so I’m going to post a bit of a “guest blog feature” here and let her talk to you about taxes and your small business. This is brief, but if you want even more information on your taxes and your small business, she has a fantastic book titled, “Your Top Online Biz Tax Questions Answered” along with a companion audio program. 

Many people wonder if their little online business or hobby-business means that they need to report the income and file a tax return. Whether you are an affiliate marketer, you sell things on Ebay or you do some sort of direct marketing and sales, there are definitely rules about how to report that income. I’ll let Kristine fill in the blanks….

Kristine writes:

“* You must report all income earned.  It’s a common misconception that if you don’t earn much or if you’re just doing it as a hobby that it’s not reportable or taxable.  That’s not true.  All income is reportable from the first dollar earned. ”

“* It doesn’t matter if you receive a 1099 or not.  It also doesn’t matter if you earn less than a certain amount.  Another myth is that if you earn less than $600 you don’t have to report the income.  Again, it’s just not true. ”

“* However, you are allowed to deduct business expenses from your income, so just because you have to report your income doesn’t mean you’ll have to pay any taxes.  If you have expenses that are as much as or greater than your income, then you won’t owe any taxes, and you may even be able to use that loss to reduce other taxable income. “

If you have additional questions about reporting income in your small business, Kristine’s ebook and audio program might get some of those questions answered for you. She’s a Certified Public Accountant and a small business owner so she understands the complexities of running a business and looking out for yourself financially.

Her book and audio, “Your Top Online Biz Tax Questions Answered” is available on her website and the package includes:

–> A 72-minute recording of the ‘Your Top Online Biz Tax Questions Answered’ exclusive teleclass held on February 14, 2008.

–> A 20-page report discussing the questions answered on the audio recording in detail, along with additional information to answer your online business tax questions.

–> A bonus 52-minute recording of the October 2007 Tax Tips exclusive audio.

–> Links to additional resources to help you learn more about small business taxes.

Best thing? This book won’t break the bank either! The whole package is only $17!

Click here to check out what Kristine has to offer and to get those nagging online business tax questions finally answered!

Disclaimer: You know and I know that I’m not a CPA….so always consult your own tax professional for more information. I’m not responsible for what you mess up on your taxes! Sad, but I actually have to add that to the bottom of all of these types of posts….so do your own research and due diligence.

Technorati Tags: taxes, online business, business taxes, small business taxes, tax tips, tax questions, tax information, tax resources, taxes