Shades of Success: Color Essentials for the Non Design Professional

After many months of writing and planning, I have finally completed work on Shades of Success: Color Essentials for the Non Design Professional!

This product is designed for the people who don't have any graphic design training or background, but want to have a good eye for color. It is especially useful for the small business owner who is doing a lot of their own marketing materials themselves and need assurance they aren't make any tragic color mistakes!

Hey, I'm a professional designer but I know there are a LOT of small business owners out there doing things themselves and I wanted to begin offering very affordable courses and products for you guys too! This is just the start.

In Shades of Success, you will read an overview of color theory, the most common color schemes, and some definitions of the technology involved in color.

After that, we get into the fun part – color palettes. We will take a tour around the color wheel - green, blue, purple, lavender, pink, red, orange, yellow; with a few stops in neutral territory - beige, brown, black, gray, white!

For each color,

* I will tell you the psychology, symbolism and meaning of the color,

* I provide a group of palette ideas (what color goes with orange, for example) and then, very importantly,

* and I show you what NOT to do!

At the end, I will share with you some of my favorite online resources for color. This document is a springboard to creating real palettes for all your projects – and I will launch you right into the directions you need to go!

Plus, when you purchase Shades of Success, you will also automatically receive a FREE BONUS that I wrote just for this occasion, The Color Meaning Glossary!

I'm very excited to provide this product, to empower everyone who WANTS to make good design with an essential foundation for doing so. I am selling it for a low introductory price of only $9.95 which will go up when I kick off the affiliate reseller program (drop me a line if that interests you).

This is the kind of product you will refer back to over and over again and that bonus Color Meaning Glossary is a fantastic tool for applying the right color to the message you want to send. Get your copy!

More Turtle Radio!

Hey - you all know how much I love to write - but only a few of you know how much I love to talk :) Well, I have been putting that "gift" to good use lately too, in promotion of my businesses.

First, check out my interview from last week, with Paul and Sarah Edwards, hosts of the Entrepreneur Magazine Home Biz Show on WSRadio.com!

Then, move on over to the Entrepreneur Magazine E Biz Show, hosted by the CEO of WorldWideBrands, Chris Malta - and you can listen to 3 more segments I did about SOHO It Goes services.

What fun radio is!

Preventative Maintenance... for YOU!

Let's face it - owning a small business, especially if you're a solo entrepreneur, is NOT for the faint hearted. I speak from experience, having burnt out thoroughly on my first business many years ago. Here are some tips on preventing burnout in yourself - especially as we enter the vacation season and suddenly realize that 2 weeks paid time off is only a memory.

* First of all, you CAN still take a vacation. Schedule time off in advance - look ahead and set a time when you will take one. Commit to it, pay for it in advance, and then make sure that you've cleared the decks. Planning well in advance, as opposed to waiting til you have the time (which, frankly, is NEVER) will assure that you can notify clients, finish up projects, line up work to start when you return and so on. The time before you leave and return might be rough but you'll be refreshed and recharged when you return.

* Do the same for mini vacations on weekends. Maybe you aren't ready for a whole week off (or you are, but your business isn't) - at least get away for completely unplugged, leisurely escapes on the weekends. Believe me, the work will wait, and it might make for a hairier Monday than normal but it will feel really good.

* Commit to activities you really love, where you can't back out. For me, its singing every Tuesday. Schedule it like a business appointment.

* Exercise and get outdoors. I have to force myself to do it but I take walks frequently, even if just for a half hour, to clear my head.

Before I hurt my shoulder again, I also used to go swimming when I'm really feeling fog in my head - an early sign of burnout for me. This was my "think tank" - I swam laps for a half hour, and just relaxed my brain. The endorphins and the soothing effects of the cool water were enough to power me for the rest of the day. So, my advice: learn what your early warning signs of burn out are. Think about what makes you go "Ahhhh." And then use that as your escape valve.

* When you find yourself facing mental obstruction to these ideas, ask yourself why exactly you went into business for yourself. Freedom? Flexibility? So you wouldn't have to ask permission for time off? Uh, hello! Thats usually all it takes for me to get my act together :)

Have fun this summer!

Genius in marketing

Every now and then I come across something that is just pure GENIUS!

There is this company in California, that designs modern style silver jewelry with gemstones, has set up a site for getting their designs in front of people's eyes. Out of all the jewelry they manufacture, they place one piece on this site every 15 minutes FOR FREE (well, you pay $5.99 shipping/handling). When the deal is gone, it's gone. I thought it was a scam until I saw the testimonials page - obviously, a LOT of people are becoming very addicted to this little web page. I'm not a huge fan of these particular designs (more a vintage-celtic-chunky-funky jewelry sort myself) but the concept just tickles me.

Silver Jewelry Club

Anyone got another marketing genius you would like to share? Post a comment - I love hearing about these programs that are so cool you can't help telling everyone!