Are we doing the same thing in our business, new endeavers and life itself?  Are we getting older but learning faster, loving more and sharing more and more of  our wisdom and experiances?

Just a thought…

Please go there, bookmark it and enjoy.

These folks have the best series of videos for FREE that I have seen in a long time. So go check it out when you get a chance. It is Boomer friendly, meaning the material is full of information, not insulting and easy to understand for baby boomers who may still be technically shy. I hope that makes sense. But it is an awesome resource.

Be sure to tell them Rosie Horner sent you!

Now I need to get back over there to create a listing in the Business Directory and connect with someone else. Hope to see you there.

Of course I went to the About Section of the site. This is an excerpt below explaining the site. Please note that it is not exhaustive.

No other online networking venue encourages the gathering of so many friendly, hardworking, ethical small business owners in one place. We aren’t here for chit-chat, or fluff, and we aren’t here to feed off one another. We are here to leverage the community to grow our businesses, and to help one another for mutual benefit. If you aren’t a nice person, you can’t do this successfully. So we tend to attract a lot of very nice people! You’d like living next door to a lot of your neighbors here.

Of course, we have the usual networking venue features in addition to that:

• Networking Forums
• Personal Blogs (in WordPress)
• A Business to Business Directory for your listing
• Featured Members
• Personal Guestbooks
• The ability to add image, video, or audio files to your listing
• The ability to add a download to your listing - so you can drop a promo here if you want
• An article database that you can contribute to
• An organization you can volunteer for, to gain greater exposure
• Discounts on marketing related services
• A progressive and responsive organization that responds to your needs

All of this in an easy to use system that you can use right away, just by exploring a little. Detailed instructions are there for anyone who prefers to use them.
Big business doesn’t really know the needs of very small businesses - they don’t even DEFINE them the same way. If you are a sole proprietor or have less than 5 employees, they don’t consider you to even be in the small business category, so they aren’t producing resources or tools that fit your business.

Front Porch Folks is ALL about the little businesses with big dreams. We offer real help, for a very small price, just for the smallest of businesses.

The Sign Up Process

Most of the pages have the sign up invitation clearly visible in large fonts on the left side of the page.

You are told right away that the registration is currently free because it is in beta. For those of you who do not like tech talk, beta means it is new and now being tested. That is a good thing because you can be part of the formation with your insights and comments.

As you fill out the really simple and helpful form your will notice several graphic symbols on the right. As your mouse goes over it the icons let you know which fields are visible to the public in your profile and which fields are required.

The form takes about 60 seconds and 120 if you are a slow typist. It is important that you indicate who referred you to the site. Please use my name if you sign up. If you refer someone else ask them to use your name. Why? Because they are doing a contest until they reach a certain number of members. Be sure to go to the contest page to see the prizes.

I was also very impressed with the Terms and Conditions. I actually understood it! Words were used like “respect”, “friendly”, “small business”, etc. You must read them and not just check off the box.

Ads are not allowed on the site, nor spamming of other folks sites. Emphasis is made about the vast opportunities to network, use your signature line and other great times and places to strut your stuff.

Layout

Kudos to the website designers.

Kudos to the logo developers.

Ethics Statement 

These days the word “ethics” has taken  on an interesting meaning when it comes to business. I am impressed with this site’s statement.

Ethics and Philosophy Statement: We do not endorse, or support, any “Internet Marketing” tactics which rely on hype, or a “system” for marketing your business. Training materials teach tried and true techniques, and are personalized to your business. All recommendations are made specifically for microbusinesses and shoestring startups, with simplified steps to help you succeed no matter what your starting level - this is not impractical corporate stuff that takes a high budget or a large staff. There are some optional upgrade services that you can purchase, but your basic membership includes everything you need as a do-it-yourselfer to successfully promote your business online, we are not trying to sucker you in to more and more fees. We feel that it is inherently American that you can succeed if you have a good idea, the willingness to work, and an intelligent approach to growing a business. Our site is here to help level the playing field to keep that possibility alive in the web marketing world.

Well that is all I have to report right now. I am going to my email to complete the sign in process and get more instructions. Hope to see you on the front porch with the other folks

Rosie Horner

So, keep checking I will tell you real soon. Don’t forget you can also key your email in and get an RSS notification whenever, which has been infrequent these days, I post.

Rosie

Rosie

Resources

Support Groups

Familly Support and

Tips

So, if you submit an article be sure to place it in those category listings.

This is needed information many of us babyboomers need about now.

Thanks

Rosie

They are very much for the beginner blogger. Read what they had to say on their ABOUT page.

Think of us as blog coaches. We’re also Blog Designers. We’re excited about blogging and here to help you become a better blogger!This is an actual WordPress Blog that we use to illustrate what blogging can do for you.

We share some of the greatest secrets blog experts use in blogging to drive and create new business.

We showcase some of the latest technology and widgets.

Techniques?

We can show you the best ways to optimize SEO, Page Ranks, and creating reader traction.

You can setup a blog with a domain name (as in http://blogwhispering.wordpress.com) for free or we can help design the perfect custom blog on your very own domain (as in www.SusieSellsSeaShells.com).

No matter what you choice you make, blogging is the best way to create new business and strengthen the existing relationships you already have!

Once again,

They have a very user friendly page tab with a simple blog template. I also encourage you to soak up what they have to say about Search Engine Optimization.

So, when you get a chance give them a look!

Keep up the great work guys!

Rosie