North San Diego Business@Large

Several months ago I was introduced to Ad Surf Daily (ASD). You sign up, paying a monthly fee of course (they call it an "ad investment"), and simply click on links to "earn" your advertising investment back, and….of course, more $$$$$.

Now, being online for as long as I have been, I knew this was a scam right away. Traffic Swarm does the same thing, for FREE.

It seems the Florida Attorney General and the US Attorney’s office From the District of Columbia have served search warrants on ASD, asserting that they are a "Ponzi scheme … disguised as an advertising company."

California Attorney General, Edmund G. Brown announced on August 5th that the state is filing a lawsuit against Your Travel Biz.com for operating as a "gigantic pyramid scheme" that recruited tens of thousands of members with deceptive claims they could earn huge sums of money through it’s online travel agencies.

Today I received yet another call about an internet "get rich quick" scheme where you have to pay to be an affiliate. Be careful these days. There are those who will try to take advantage of you because they are counting on you not being very internet savvy. In internet marketing, rarely do you pay to be an affiliate.

Here’s a great tip on researching these new offerings….Google the multi-level marketing company name and add "scam", or "sucks" afterwards, so your search term would be….."MLM name" + scam.  Read up about who is involved and what others have to say about the company before investing your hard earned money. I did and discovered that there is a long, questionable history with the people at the top of this "opportunity."

I was told this new product would drive traffic to my website.  Upon further investigation, that claim couldn’t be further from the truth. As much as I like the person trying to sell me this new service, I’m not gullible when it comes to the internet and I could hear this person being coached in the background. Again, be careful. Do your due diligence in checking these firms out and, ask the person trying to convince you that this is the next best "money maker" how many MLM firms they’ve touted in the past 5 years. If it’s more than one, why?

There are MLM firms that offer great products and they sell with high integrity. I’m just urging you to check them out before giving your bucks to them.

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce is hosting its 19th annual Business Expo at Westfield’s Plaza Camino Real shopping center located at Marron Rd. and El Camino Real.

You can find a list of the exhibitors on the Chamber’s website. This is a great event to attend as a North San Diego County business owner.  The expo starts at noon and culminates with the Sundowner at 5pm.

So grab your business cards and come to one of the largest networking events left this year. Meet the other business owners in North San Diego county and have a great time while you’re checking the exhibits and tasting the fine foods we offer in Carlsbad.

You can get free admission tickets by filling out a brief survey. You can also gain free admission by bring something to e-cycle, and old computer, monitor, etc.   I’ll be there, will you??

Ann DeVere is holding a one day bootcamp on Lead Explosion in San Diego on August 27th.

How much MORE MONEY would you make right now if you knew:

• Who is Your MOST Profitable customer?
• Where are they?
• How can you get to them?
• What are the exact words that will grab their attention and make them realize you have what they are looking for and they MUST have it right now?

Ann will share the best and most cost effective ways to market your business and how to recognize and stop wasting money on promotions that don’t work. She’ll discuss how you can have reliable referral partners send you a steady stream
of pre-qualified customers regularly. Stop just thinking about making more money and Actually Make More Money!

By integrating proven marketing strategies implemented by Topline Business Solutions Inc. for their Fortune 500 clients with Small Business marketing strategies, Ann has driven NOR CONCEPTS onto the cutting edge of customized small business marketing, helping other entrepreneurial business owners learn to put their marketing and advertising dollars to the best use and realize their full potential.

Take advantage of this special one day bootcamp by registering online at MarketingSuccessSeminars.com and dramatically change your business by exploding the leads you receive.

Make sure to look for me, I’ll be wearing the hat!

How would you like to have your content delivered daily to your prospects desktop? What would that mean to the success of your business? Dianna Arreola of Core Specialties shares how you can reach out to your prospects, motivate and reward your employees, and strengthen the core of your business with a variety of programs.

After listening to this 10 minute interview, I’d love to hear how you are using new technology to reach your prospects and strengthen the core of your business! Please leave a comment!!

Currently Dianna is reading, The Carrot Principle: How the Best Managers Use Recognition to Engage Their Employees, Retain Talent, and Drive Performance by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton. The Carrot Principle illustrates that the relationship between recognition and improved business results is highly predictable–it’s proven to work. But it’s not the employee recognition some of us have been using for years. It is recognition done right, recognition combined with four other core traits of effective leadership.

Maybe if you read this book, you won’t have to worry about your employees suing you. If you didn’t read the book, and your employees are thinking about suing you, check out the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce’s First Friday Breakfast April 1st.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Sheila McDonnell of the Women In Business Symposium to discuss what the symposium is and why it’s important to the women’s business community.

Sheila’s been producing this symposium for the past nine years, originally held at Morgan Run, but now moved to the San Diego Fairgrounds (or as us locals call it, the Del Mar Fairgrounds) as the symposium grew larger.

There are still opportunities for sponsorships, roundtable facilitating and of course, attending. Visit the Women In Business Symposium for more details. Here’s the interview, and please add to the conversation by commenting below.  Will you be attending?

A few years ago I was approached by Sheryl Roush, Sparkle Presentations, and asked to contribute to her Heart of a Woman book.  I, along with many other women in the business community provided inspirational passages, humorous and serious stories, as well as poems. It may have started with Heart of a Woman, but it certainly didn’t end there.  It was followed by Heart of a Mother. Rounding out the trilogy is the newest release….

On Tuesday, December 6th, many of the contributors to Sheryl’s newest release, Heart of the Holidays, will gather for a book signing at the Borders in Chula Vista. There they will be autographing and reading their original stories and poems !

Come do your shopping and get these gift books for everyone on your holiday list!!!

Contributors reading December 4th include:

Maria Carter (Heart of a Mother)
Jane Cohen (Heart of a Woman, Heart of a Mother)
Darlene Fahl-Brittian (Heart of a Mother, Heart of the Holidays)
Terri Hall, flying out with her daughter from Iowa
    (Heart of a Mother, and Heart of the Holidays)
Shenay Kloss, age 14 (Heart of a Mother, Heart of the Holidays)
Debbi McGill  (Heart of a Mother)
Teresa Kuffel (Heart of the Holidays)
Adria Manary (Heart of a Woman, Heart of a Mother)
Debra Simpson (Heart of a Mother, Woman)
James Tucker (Heart of a Mother, Heart of the Holidays)
Rev. Uki MacIsaac (Heart of the Holidays)
Michelle Weisser (Heart of the Holidays)
Carlee Westbrook (Heart of the Holidays)

Making a guest appearance is Beverly Roush, resident of the area and mother of Sheryl Roush. I’ll be podcast ing from the event. You can look forward to hearing authors reading the contributions in their own voice! It promises to be a lively, and lovely, evening.

So, the details…..

Tuesday, December 4 - 7:00-10:00pm
Borders Chula Vista    (Mapquest)
Village at Eastlake Shopping Center
878 Eastlake Parkway, Suite 210
Chula Vista, CA 91914
Store Phone: 619.482.9883
Located east of I-125 and I-805, off Otay Lakes Road

Come by and meet Sheryl, grab some books for holiday gifts (I did), and ask the 13 authors to sign their contributions. Besides, you’ll be meeting some great people!