Yep. Definitely loving the chimp!

Check out the latest [ real neat ] ezine…

And be sure to subscribe if you haven’t already!

I have fallen in love with a monkey!

Well, not really, but I am very excited that MailChimp has changed their free account option to include a larger mailing list size! Woohoo! So, fellow small business owners, you absolutely must give MailChimp a try—check out the e-mail campaign that I just sent out on behalf of www.EquestrianHomeLeasing.com!

Now, let me count the ways…

1. free up to 500 subscribers,
2. free up to 3000 emails per month,
3. gorgeous website… (an absolute must in my book),
4. clever + hilarious copy (i.e., writing),
5. easy-to-use interface,
6. list segmentation,
7. detailed reports (i.e., tracking),
8. powerful webmaster tools,
9. truly helpful help (i.e., articles, tips, blog),
10. and did I mention FREE !?!

Hands-down, MailChimp is the ideal way to manage any and all of your e-mail campaigns (i.e., special offers, monthly newsletters, birthday wishes, holiday greetings, etc.)!

Courtesy of Carmen Coker, owner of Clutterbugs:

A well-known Zen parable tells of a wanderer on a lonely road who happened upon a fierce stream that had washed out the bridge to cross over it.

The man, afraid to swim against such a strong current, decided to build a raft. He spent many hours cutting down trees and vines for the project. In the end, the wanderer had a very sturdy raft that brought him safely across the river.

Once on the other side, he thought to himself: This is a good raft. If I meet with another stream ahead, I can use it again to navigate the water.

And so the wanderer carried the raft for the rest of his life.

Think about the moral of this story for just a moment.

From the outside, looking in, this might seem ridiculous. Why would some guy carry a heavy raft around if he didn’t need to?!

But, often times, we do this same thing in our own lives. Maybe not a raft, but maybe something else. It’s not uncommon for people to hang onto an item because it was useful at one point or another but has since become irrelevant. Bottom line: it’s now clutter.

If this sounds familiar, I encourage you to take a few hours throughout the next week to purge these objects that no longer add value to your home, office, or life.

Don’t carry these “rafts” when you don’t need to…

Georgetown now boasts its very own Business Network International Chapter called Success Masters.

BNI is the World’s Largest Business Networking, Referrals, and Word of Mouth Marketing Organization.

I attended the Kick-Off Event on Wednesday, courtesy of a personal invitation from a fellow Lilybugs consignor and mom : Alison Waldridge.

Having been accepted as a new member, I am looking forward to picking the brains of more experienced and successful local business owners. ( Of course, getting some client referrals wouldn’t hurt, either! 😉 ) Wish me luck!

As a fairly new small business owner, I have quickly learned that managing client information, marketing campaigns, and general business administrative tasks can easily become extremely overwhelming. Any suggestions?

Pen and paper aside, I’m in the market for an online hosted CRM solution. I’d love to integrate my website directly into the CRM application in order to manage my newsletter mailing lists with greater efficiency. At this point, though, it’s beginning to seem as though my head is in the clouds…

My professional organizing business is currently 95% service-based. At some point in the future, I do plan to expand into selling organizing-related products. I know, I know… there are definitely solutions out there that meet all my “requirements,” but I simply can’t afford to use them! I need some guidance!

My current CRM wish list:

• visually-appealing interface
• web-based & hosted
• lead, prospect, and customer tracking
• sales process management
• marketing campaign management
• automated drip marketing
• customizable reporting
• at-a-glance daily task list
• inexpensive (if not free)!

If you currently own a small business (or have owned a small business in the past), how do you manage your client information and marketing campaigns? I’d love to hear from you!