Posts Tagged ‘business development’

New Contact Form…

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

I’ve had some issues in the past weeks with the “Contact Us” form on the website, and just wanted to let everyone know that it’s all fixed! :)

If you’re interested in some assistance with your internet marketing or business development, please feel free to drop me a line… and use the new Contact Us form.

Thanks!

Audrey

Audrey’s Artsy Side…

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

In addition to being a Strategic Marketing and Business Development Diva, did you know I also enjoy singing and songwriting? It’s true!

I used to live in Nashville, TN, where I was fortunate enough to sing with many of today’s favorite country singers. At 12th & Porter, I sang backup with Gretchen Wilson (we shared a microphone singing backup for Shannon Lawson) during a Musik Mafia event. I’ve sang on just about every bar stage in Nashville, and worked with some of my favorite singers writers and friends- Mark Kerr, Danny Wells, John Michael Montgomery, Trent Tomlinson, Trailer Choir, Gary Hannan and Todd Milsap to name a few.

I’m really not a name-dropper so I only mentioned the people I know who wouldn’t mind me sharing their names with you! Here’s one video of me singing to my camera… an old Beatles tune that I grew up listening to with my dad. It’s one of my favorites…

In addition to singing, I’m an accomplished visual artist as well. I primarily work with acrylics and mixed media. My artwork has been selling on eBay, online and in person since 1999. I still get commissioned for art every now and then- and have prints available for some of my earlier work (related to childbirth, etc) at www.cafepress.com/momsartwork. I’ll post some images of newer artwork of mine soon.

And I’m pretty excited to say that my boyfriend Mark and I are currently working on a CD of our music together… we’re looking forward to getting that finished up in the next several months. See, 2010 has lots of fantastic opportunities for everyone. What’s your passion?

I want to hear about what makes YOU excited. For me, it’s analyzing businesses/marketing and helping people succeed… along with singing, writing and painting. When I do all of the above, my soul just sings! What about YOU? Tell me! Reply as a comment below or if you want to keep it between the two of us, just send me an email or message through Facebook or Twitter! I’m excited… can’t wait to hear about YOU!

Please feel free to comment regarding the music as well. :)

Carryin’ on Commerce FULL TIME! Full Speed Ahead for 2010!

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

I am so excited and THANKFUL to be able to announce that this morning I resigned from my full time job to focus 100% of my efforts on Carry On Commerce. With the added work coming in, it was a necessary jump to make. I’m thrilled to be able to offer myself 100% of the time to my own business.

If you know anyone at all who needs a helping hand with anything related to their website or getting their business started online (or even just needs a good push in the right direction), please just send them to my site and have them give me a call. I’m available to answer calls and handle business on a full time basis now.

Please don’t forget about the $250 special – a Website Evaluation/Business Marketing Review and 2010 Roadmap to Success ALL for $250! Find more details at http://www.carryoncommerce.com/roadmap-to-success.html. If you have any questions, please email me or give me a call.

Thanks and I wish everyone a VERY HAPPY Thanksgiving weekend! :)

-Audrey (and family)

Online Marketing Misconceptions – volume 1

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

One of the biggest misconceptions I have heard in recent years is the over-dependence on the “IT guy” or “IT girl” in any office. Yes, these men and women are often intelligent and talented – but just like everyone else, they can’t do it all. I can’t tell you how often I cringe when I hear that people are leaving their internet marketing decisions to the “IT department”.

No offense to the managers who are making this type of decision, but speaking candidly, how stupid is that?

Really! A formula for business success is this: strong business plan + marketing = sales

Why are you (as a business owner/manager) putting the person who is handling the “plan” part of things (i.e. the website development) solely in charge of a major portion of your online marketing dollars? Often times, the people in the “IT department” are not great at marketing or planning marketing dollars- despite their knowledge of the online aspect of it- yet more often than not, I keep hearing about this happening.

What’s worse, is that I hear of business managers complaining that they’ve “tried SEO” or “tried PPC” and had a budget BACKFIRE! I can’t stress enough how important it is for the folks who are in charge of handing out the money for these services to understand what they are, how they work and on average what they should cost/what they’re willing to spend.

More importantly, if you (as an owner/manager) don’t understand how you are spending your advertising budget, then you should hire me. You need someone who can look at your business objectively (as opposed to asking your in-house IT manager who doesn’t care to educate you or save you money- their primary concern is to still have a job and get paid) and help you understand and navigate the world of online advertising and social media marketing. I promise that the short term investment involved to hire me as a consultant will save you money in the long run. Hiring me will allow you to be more involved in any future marketing dollars spent, simply because you’ll understand where and how to allocate funds based on your sales and business objectives.

I’m sure I’ll have more to say on the misconceptions front, so I’ll leave this as volume 1.

-Audrey

CACHED success!

Friday, November 6th, 2009

I’m still in the process of working on the website, but the basic core of the site is there and live. Despite the lack of pages and content, I am so proud to say that the site has been crawled and I already have great placement on Google! How’s that for some business development success?

I look forward to seeing more success in the future with continued search engine exposure. In the mean time- I just had to share my “yay” moment!

I have some big plans for future blog content, so stay tuned! :) And… if you haven’t already – be sure to find me on Twitter and Facebook!

-Audrey

Carry On Commerce – Website Launch SOON!

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

I’m so excited to soon be able to reveal all that I’ve been working on!

Carry On Commerce is a brain child of my years of experience in sales and marketing, as well as my experience in business development.

It’s been a dream of mine to share my knowledge and help other people achieve their own dreams while being able to work from wherever I may be at the moment- my home, the beach, the grocery store, my kids’ karate dojo… wherever!

As a mother of four closely spaced children, I’ve mastered the art of time management. I have applied it to a business model that can be easily duplicated and applied for maximum success.

I realize every business, like every person, is different. As a whole, Carry On Commerce is a strategic marketing and business development firm. On an individual level, I partner with each of my clients, to determine their goals and dreams for their own business. Then, I assist them in reaching their goals and making their dreams a reality.

All of my work is done with the realization that both time and money are important to both parties involved.

I’m so excited… but have to keep working on the site in order to be able to reveal it sooner rather than later… so, this blog post… albeit quick, must come to an end!