I am sick. This is good for you because I write better when I’m sick. I don’t give a shit if anybody likes what I have to say, so I just say it. Like Chris Rock, but whiter. Or Johnny Truant, but prettier.

So how did the seminar go?

I did my first ever in-person seminar the other day and it was killer. I won’t tell you what I talked about because then I can’t charge you to come to the Canadian version later, but I will say that the intrepid souls who braved the trip and the risk made me very happy indeed.

I met Mark Benjamin who is brave enough to be honest about not having been born passionate about selling widgets on the internet. He’s about to launch a new quit smoking mp3 download and is using the proceeds to travel the world. Pretty cool, huh?

By Naomi Dunford - Jun 25, 2009 in Small Business Marketing - 1 Comment
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I am writing this for you today because my husband Jamie, the best husband in the history of marriage, has taken Jack away. I don’t know where he’s taken him and I don’t care. All I care about is that he’s gone.

Because Jack has become three. He’s not actually three until September but in his head, he’s totally three. If you are a parent, you understand that THREE IS ALWAYS WORSE THAN TWO.

Why? Because nobody fucking WARNS you about three. Three is “why?” Three is “whasSAT for?” Three is “whassat MEAN?” Three is “what does G mean?” Three is “what time is it?” Three is “what time is it?” Three is “what does time mean?” Three is “what does nine cocks mean?”

By Naomi Dunford - Jun 18, 2009 in Small Business Marketing - 16 Comments
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I know a guy who lives in northern Ontario. The economy kind of sucks up there and for a variety of reasons, he can’t get a conventional job. His skill set is limited, he doesn’t have a lot of spare time to work and competition for traditional small town ittybiz options (lawn cutting, snow shovelling, that sort of thing) is high.

He does, however, have one particularly unique skill.

He has freakishly good luck when he hunts. I don’t know a whole lot about hunting, but I know you don’t score a dead deer every time you take a walk. It’s an art and a science, and not every buffoon with a rifle gets to take home venison steaks.

So this guy decides to create a business as a hunting guide. He comes with you when you hunt. He finds them, you shoot them.

By Naomi Dunford - Jun 16, 2009 in Small Business Marketing - 24 Comments
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I’m playing with the idea of giving a workshop in the UK before I go back to Canada. It will be my first ever in-person workshop/seminar thing, and I would like guinea pigs.

I haven’t thought too hard about the details, but here’s what I’ve got so far:

It will be in the next three weeks. (I leave circa June 28th.)

It will be at least half a day, but more likely a full day.

It will either be in London or in the Barn of Bliss in Cheddington. (40 minutes north of Euston on the London Midland line. Past Berkhamsted, before Milton Keynes.)

It will be really small. 6 people? 12 people?

It will be called Fuck Realistic. I don’t even really know what that means but my gut says that’s what I should be giving a seminar about, so that’s what I’m gonna do. Probably something to do with skyrocketing the living shit out of your ittybiz.

By Naomi Dunford - Jun 7, 2009 in Small Business Marketing - 5 Comments
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This post is part of a series that will tell you how to create your USP by looking at other real, live ittybiz owners who have done it and kicked ass at it.

First, it should be noted that it would be unwise to accuse me of any level of objectivity in this post whatsoever. I love Stacy Brice of AssistU fame (and I do mean fame) like I love pink sparkly ponies on Christmas morning. I love her like I love Hermès scarves and English roses and the word “apothecary”. Basically, I like her a lot. Just be aware.

So, who the hell is Stacy, other than my girl crush? Stacy runs the highly acclaimed AssistU, a finishing school of sorts for virtual assistants. You wanna be a Big Girl VA? You go to AssistU. Every part of the Learning Not To Suck process is smooth and delightful under Stacy’s careful watch and tutelage.

By Naomi Dunford - Jun 3, 2009 in Small Business Marketing - 10 Comments
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This post is part of a series that will tell you how to create your USP by looking at other real, live ittybiz owners who have done it and kicked ass at it.

Rebecca Leigh is a writer. Yeah, her and everybody else. But she’s like, a real writer. The kind that doesn’t do something else for her day job. She just, you know, writes and stuff. If you’re also a writer, that probably sounds like Greek to you. If you’re not a writer and you’ve ever thought about them sitting alone in their garret smoking long French cigarettes, it probably sounds like Greek to you, too.

Anyway, whoever you are, pay attention to how Rebecca has bravely navigated the insanely competitive world of writing for money and made a fantastic name for herself.

By Naomi Dunford - Jun 2, 2009 in Small Business Marketing - 10 Comments
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This is important and emotional and important and, yeah. It’s important.

Once upon a time, I was broke and pregnant and on bedrest. I had no prospects and less hope. Things were very, very bad.

One day, on my lousy computer that I bought through Dell’s exorbitant payment plan — I’m still paying for that computer, by the way — I was surfing the internet and ran across Darren Rowse from Problogger. I don’t know how I found him and I don’t care.

It was a moment that changed my family’s future.

(Read a little more about it in Wanted: One Psychic PA, Lousy Pay. And while we’re talking about that blog post, you’ll be interested to know that three people read the title and applied for the job. Not kidding.)

By Naomi Dunford - May 28, 2009 in Small Business Marketing - 25 Comments
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(Off topic: Have you read about the 12.5% solution yet? No? Get off your ass, honey. This shit is killer.)

This post is part of a series that will tell you how to create your USP by looking at other real, live ittybiz owners who have done it and kicked ass at it.

James Chartrand and the other fine gentlemen (and gentleladies) at Men with Pens are making quite a splash on the interwebs for pretty much being the go-to guys for design and copy, all in one place. That’s not an easy feat when everybody and their schnauzer thinks they can be a writer or web designer on the internet.

Today, we’re going to talk about the copy side of Men with Pens and what you can learn from that in your own ittybiz.

By Naomi Dunford - May 21, 2009 in Personal, Small Business Marketing - 5 Comments
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This post is part of a series that will tell you how to create your USP by looking at other real, live ittybiz owners who have done it and kicked ass at it.

Dave Navarro is a launch coach. Specifically, he is MY launch coach. He has made me over a hundred grand, so his name is probably one you should get to know. He’s big.

(He has also done product and business launches for bestselling author Jennifer Louden and Coach for Coaches superstar Andrea J. Lee. Seriously, dude. He’s big.)

Today, we’re going to talk about why Dave is unique and what you can learn from that in your own ittybiz.

He’s not a business coach. He’s a LAUNCH coach.

Everybody and their mother is a business coach these days. (Hint: there’s a lot of money in business coaching if you’re any good at it.) Everybody can tell you how you should manage your time and how you should manage your client relationships and how you should do general business related stuff.

By Naomi Dunford - May 20, 2009 in Small Business Marketing - 5 Comments
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Hey people. Just a quick FYI to let you know that the premium (read: paid) course I’m doing with the lovely and pink haired Sonia Simone is open. If you are remotely interested, you should go check out what the course is about NOW. Why? Well, because I’m always a fan of high pressured sales techniques, sure.

But also because this product launched on Copyblogger. Copyblogger has 57,388 readers. Our course has 500 slots. If you can do basic arithmetic, you know that the odds are not in your favor if you wait. If you want to check it out, now is the time. Marketing for Nice People is here.

By Naomi Dunford - May 18, 2009 in Small Business Marketing - 3 Comments
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