The last project I worked on and forgot to mention was for Dinah of Twist Clothing in Santa Monica.  Twist sells funky clothing and accessories, in a great environment and with a very friendly staff.  This project  was fun and light-hearted, and I got to visit with Dinah at her store before getting started to get a really good feel for the store and it’s personality.

The site had a simple structure, but the look and hip-ness were very important, so I went through several revisions with Dinah before we hit upon something we were both really happy with.  It is an improvement over her old site, as her customers can easily find her now (we snagged the #1 spot for several of her desired search terms).  Also, since I used WordPress with some Flickr plugins for the setup, Dinah can update the website by herself as easily as she sends an email.  In fact, that is actually how she updates the site, by sending in emails with attachments

Huh?? you say.  I’m talking about Joshua Gordon, who runs Part of the Solution ADR Services, an Appropriate Dispute Resolution (ADR) Company.  The reason I mention Joshua’s company here is that I designed his site.  A few months back I started offering freelance webdesign services, and I launched that effort by running a competition on this site offering free web design to three lucky winners.

Well, those sites are all finished and I’m happy to report that with them in my portfolio I’ve moved on to paying work.  In all my jet-setting and ensuing lethargy however, I forgot to mention the sites or link to them.  Joshua’s site is the second of three.

Thanks for dropping by, and if you happen to be a regular, please forgive me for the hiatus. Now that the apology is out of the way, let’s get on with it. If I’ve learned anything from successful entrepreneurs, it’s that when you fall off the horse you have to jump up, run after it, and get back on.

Yesterday I finally found myself starting work on a re-design for this site. That’s the excuse I’ve been using on myself for not blogging - “I’ll get back to it after the re-design.” But as I started started the process, I realized that that had nothing to do with it. That was just the excuse, and the real reason was that my goals for the site are mis-aligned. All the goals I was able to come up with began with “I,” which doesn’t make much sense for such a public thing as a website. That made blogging feel less exciting and more like a chore. So I started re-tooling my goals for the site. There’s no reason I should feel such a strong resistance to blogging if I do something I’m proud of.

That means that for the meantime, the redesign is going to get put on the back burner as start blogging again, and as I focus more on a direction that makes sense. The basic epiphany that I had is that this website isn’t here for me, it’s here to help you. So to continue in that spirit, here are three practical suggestions for web entrepreneurs.

1. Join Audible.com - Or some similar service. But just stop wasting your time during your commutes, during your errands, on your workouts, and when you’re doing busywork. One of the hallmarks of a successful entrepreneur is education, and what better way to get educated than by listening to books when you have nothing better to do with your brain?

2. Get Google Adwords - It’s free to open one, and the fastest path to learning PPC (pay-per-click) marketing. Trust me, if you do any kind of business online, you want to start getting familiar with the ins-and-outs of search marketing.

3. Get Skype - What are you waiting for? Everybody and their mother already has an account and it’ll save you money on phone bills. You can even get your own professional-looking “business phone number” for cheap, and the services includes are great. Conference calling, call recording, one-click dialing (my favorite for long distance numbers), etc. etc.

For disclosure’s sake, yes those are affiliate links. And no, I would never recommend something that I don’t already use, and fervently stand behind

Hello there,

Do you always feel like there’s just not enough time?  Do you really wish you could educate and improve yourself, but you just can’t find the time to do it?  I know how you feel because I had exactly the same problem.  But I found a working solution that I am so excited about, I just have to share it with everyone.

Let me tell you a quick story.  When I started my first job, I commuted 45 minutes each way, to a job where I spent almost 10 hours a day.  What’s worse, most of that time was spent sitting around waiting for customers.  I still shudder when I think back to how much time I wasted.  Just the commuting adds up to more that 375 lost hours a year!

Lucky for me, a friend referred me to Audible.com , and it changed my life.  Seriously.  I now go through 24-36 new books a year, not to mention countless articles and periodicals, and all during what used to be “wasted time.” Can you imagine how much more you could learn?

I feel in control of my time, more intelligent, and more self-confident, all because I am able to learn and grow during the time that I previously wasted.  As an added bonus, I no longer feel angry in traffic, and I look forward to commutes, workouts, doing dishes, vacuuming, and other busywork that frees my mind for learning.

I’m not talking about anything new or revolutionary here - the idea of listening to books rather than reading them has been around for decades.  What has changed is the medium.  With the advent of MP3 players, obtaining and listening to books and audio programs has become much easier and cheaper.

The MP3 players have become small and inexpensive so you can take them anywhere, and the digital nature of the audio means you can download it almost instantaneously and it’s cheaper to distribute.  In fact, from the moment I decide to read a new book, I can be out running and listening to it in less than 15 minutes.

So all I’m suggesting here is that you do yourself a favor.  Give Audible a try and take back control of your time and your continuing education.  For just 10 bucks you get a year’s membership and a free book.  How much would you pay for that book in the bookstore?