What is Australia Day?

What is Australia day is a question I have been asked by several of my International friends. One of the wonderful things about the internet and social media is that many of us have expanded our friendships around the globe. A growing number of us are building global businesses and we are learning about our various cultural differences.

The 26th January is Australia Day and is a national holiday for Australians. It is the day we celebrate what is great about Australia and being Australian.  It is only since 1994 that we have celebrated Australia day as a National Holiday on the actual day.

Australia Day is the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet of 11 convict ships from Great Britain, and the raising of the Union Jack at Sydney Cove by its commander Captain Arthur Phillip, in 1788/

How do we celebrate?
Today the arrival of the convict ships  would be the last thing most Australians think about on the 26th January each year. Now outdoor concerts, community barbecues (or barbies as we call them), sports competitions, festivals and fireworks are some of the many events presented to communities across Australia.

On Australia Day, many of our nation’s population of 21 million attend either an organized community event, or get together with family and friends with the intention of celebrating our national day. Many more spend the public holiday relaxing with family and friends.

At its core, Australia Day is a day driven by communities, and the celebrations held in each town, suburb or cities are the foundation of its ongoing success.

Citizenship Ceremonies
Citizenship ceremonies are also commonly held and Australia Day is now the largest occasion for the acquisition of citizenship. On 26 January 2011, more than 300 Citizenship Ceremonies took place and 13,000 people from 143 countries took Australian Citizenship.

An Australian Citizenship Affirmation is a statement that gives all Australians, not only our newest citizens, the opportunity to affirm their loyalty and commitment to Australia and its people.

Citizenship ceremonies are generally conducted by local government councils and can be held on Australia Day as part of the program of events.

Recognition
Each year our nation celebrates the achievement and contribution of eminent Australians through the Australian of the Year Awards by profiling leading citizens who are role models for us all. The actor Geoffrey Rush was named Australian of the Year 2012. Rush was honored for his 40 year career and commitment to Australia’s arts industry.

There are other awards given and a substantial number of people honored for their contribution in various ways.

What did I do for Australia Day 2012?
I live in a town called Noosa, on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. We had planned to meet friends at a park on the banks of the river quite close to our house. These plans were cancelled when the rain set in. Here is a very short video of the location taken a couple of days later. Unfortunately what would normally be a vibrant packed place was like a ghost town on Australia Day.

Mid-afternoon it did stop raining for a while and we went over to the beach and this is what was happening.

Noosa Main Beach

Sue on Noosa Beach

Around Australia

Australia is such a large country and our weather this 26th January varied across the nation. A couple of examples are;

• My home town on the other side of the country had a scorching day of 40 degrees Celsius (that is 104).
• Melbourne had a warm sunny day as many people flocked to the Australian Open (tennis grand slam).
• Sydney also had rain but people still flocked to the harbor.

Tell me about your National Holidays
I know the US celebrates 4th July for Independence Day but I know very little about other countries National Holiday. Please leave your comments below. If you are an Aussie tell me what you did this year and if you are not how do you celebrate your National Day?

Empower Network

Empower Network offers a blog for each of its members within a WordPress blog system.  It means people can get started blogging very easily without the steep learning curve. I think it is perfect for anyone starting out online, building a Network Marketing business or doing Affiliate Marketing.

The system eliminates the need to maintain your blog, learn SEO and all the other things that go with having your own independent blog.

For some time now I have been really clear I do not want people in my MLM down line to lose as much time and focus as I did with a huge learning when first coming online. Maintaining a WordPress blog takes consistent time and effort.

However until now I was unsure as to which way to lead people. I want to work online and I want my team to do the same but I want us all to be efficient. I was looking for a solution that could eliminate or reduce the lengthy learning curve for people.  I have found what I was looking for with Empower Network.

When I first came online two years ago I had been told I needed a blog as my “home”. At the time I was pretty much technophobic. To give you an idea, when someone asked me what browser I was using I did not know what a browser was!!! I had been in management positions most of my life and had someone to do my online work. So it was a daunting process for me. I had never heard of plugins, widgets, SEO and so the list went on.

I found an online webinar course on WordPress taught by fellow Aussie Jodie Thompson along with her US partner Kimberly Castleberry. It ran for 6 weeks and in that time I built my blog. The fact I did it still amazes many people who know me (including myself).

Then I repeated the course – a few times. It took me the best part of a year to really know what I was doing. During that time I made very little money and lost sight of the fact I had come online to build my Network Marketing Business Now I realize my story is all too common for many of us finding the online world.

This is why finding Empower Network feels like a total blessing for me.  If I can help others find their feet online relatively quickly I am all for it.  Not only does the system simplify the blogging process it also offers a very lucrative income stream if you refer others to the system. You really can get paid for blogging and reduce the amount of time it normally takes for bloggers to make an income.

I see this can be a great supplementary income for people online. For anyone wanting to quit their JOB this might be your answer in speeding up the process. This can also be an additional income source for Network Marketers as they build their residual income.

Can you see from my experience that this system can provide a simple alternative? Check out more about the Empower Network here.

I love to hear your feedback so please leave me a comment below.  Please share this post with your Twitter and FB friends by clicking on the share buttons. I appreciate you telling others.

I purchased Video Traffic Academy‘s video training program several months ago. I must confess I have not totally made it to the end of the course but I am far enough through to be able to recommend it. In fact highly recommend it.

Part of the reason I have not finished the course is the sheer volume of content. The course consists of 5 modules and some bonuses. The modules all consist of training videos, notes, copies of the slides, mp3 and a transcript. In some modules there are 6 or 7 training videos. It is not just a matter of watching the videos as you need to implement the recommendations and I am still working my way through that. For $97 it is amazing value.

The goal of the course is to get us more traffic. It focuses on YouTube and basically a 3 step process to follow…

1. Video Optimization
2. Video Value
3. Video Aftermath

The description says it is not a course on how to make videos but more a whole strategy on video marketing.  Having said that there is a whole module on “creating killer videos” and I must confess I have been doing a lot of things wrong. I will soon be  making you some  “killer videos”

There is also excellent information and a format to follow in posting your videos to YouTube.  I learned lots of little distinctions about just this process. One of  them was I had been told to just put my URL in as the description with only a few words following it. James Wedmore, who teaches the course, says to have a lengthy description and not include your URL in all of your descriptions -  and not to lead with it. He teaches other ways to connect to your website like having a Call to Action Overlay. You will be seeing them from me soon.

If you are interested there is a video about the course on the link below. I am an affiliate as I think the course is awesome value.  Here is the link.

Video Traffic Academy

I truly believe  video is the way of the future so I am learning what I can about it.

I love to hear your feedback so please leave me a comment below.  Please  share this post with your Twitter and FB friends by clicking on the share buttons. I appreciate you telling others.

The use of video in communication is fast growing. Add the power of a video conference to an automated platform within Facebook and you have a viral marketing machine!

Automated webinars sell products faster than any other online method. FB Webinars is software that allows you to automate your webinars inside of Facebook.

Viral marketing on Facebook happens quickly because you have the “know, like, trust” factor coupled with an environment people feel safe in.

I use WowWe video email and conferencing. Several of us from  around the globe recorded a video conference and now use the FB Webinar platform to promote it on Facebook. I explain more in my video here.

I would love to hear what you think about this concept. If you like it please  share this post with your Twitter and FB friends by clicking on the share buttons. I appreciate you telling others.

Why should you use video in business?  Video is the fastest growing segment online and video;

• Increases engagement time
• Deepens emotional connection
• And gives you trust and credibility

In this video I share with you some uses and examples of how to use video in your business to increase your results and bottom line.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In addition to the examples I gave on the video other uses include:

• Sale announcements
• Business news
• Fundraising
• Staff/team updates
• Promotions
• And many others

Video is a more effective way of branding and increases customer retention.

I would love to hear what you think. Do you use video in your business now?

Please  share this post with your Twitter and FB friends by clicking on the share buttons. I appreciate you telling others.

This is the final part to this series What is Diversification? If you have not read the previous posts please do so this one is in context for you.

You can find them here:

• What is Diversification?
• What is Diversification? – Part 2
• What is Diversification? – Part 3

In my last video I shared my biggest lesson learned by not having diversification in income sources. In this video I continue my story and where it has brought me to today.  I believe you too can learn from other people’s mistakes. I hope you can from mine.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks for following me with this series and I hope I have convinced you of the importance of having diversified and residual income as well as  leverage.

Please leave me your comments below. I love to hear what you think. Please  also share this post with your Twitter and FB friends by clicking on the share buttons. I appreciate you telling others.

In this video I continue with my story on the subject of diversifying income streams.

I tell how we went on to build a solid diversified business with residual income only to then again be tempted by immediate gratification and short term thinking.

If you have not read my first two posts on this subject please read them to understand the context of the story.

What is Diversification?

What is Diversification? – Part 2

Click here to view the embedded video.

I tell my story now for a couple of reasons.

1) to illustrate why I believe diversification is so important and secondly I believe we do not have to make our own mistakes we can learn from other peoples “learning experiences”.   I hope you can learn from mine.

In my next and final post in this series I will explain how I came to understand the importance of multiple sources of income, as well as the importance of leverage and residual income. Whether you are a traditional business owner, network or internet marketer or employee this is important.

Please leave me your comments below. I love to hear what you think. Please  also share this post with your Twitter and FB friends by clicking on the share buttons. I appreciate you telling others.

This is my second post in this series. What is Diversification?

To illustrate my belief that business should have multiple sources of income I share on this video a story from my past where not being diversified cost us significantly.

Click here to view the embedded video.

On the video I talk about the town we lived in. This is Western Australia and the town shown at the bottom is Esperance. Not too far north and East is dessert.

I also shared more on this in What Happens when your Game is Changed Overnight?

In the next post in this series I will share with you another one of my learning experiences with lots of layers of lessons.

Please leave me your comments below. I love to hear what you think. Please  also share this post with your Twitter and FB friends by clicking on the share buttons. I appreciate you telling others.

This is the first of a series of posts where I discuss the question of diversification in business, investments and income streams.

Having had a background as a financial planner I am very familiar with the word “diversification” in investment terms.

Let’s look at some definitions of Diversification.

From Wikipedia,

In finance, diversification means reducing risk by investing in a variety of assets. If the asset values do not move up and down in perfect synchrony, a diversified portfolio will have less risk than the weighted average risk of its constituent assets, and often less risk than the least risky of its constituents. Therefore, any risk-averse investor will diversify to at least some extent, with more risk-averse investors diversifying more completely than less risk-averse investors.

Also from Wikipedia
Diversification is a form of corporate strategy for a company. It seeks to increase profitability through greater sales volume obtained from new products and new markets. Diversification can occur either at the business unit level or at the corporate level. At the business unit level, it is most likely to expand into a new segment of an industry that the business is already in.

In this series I discuss diversification in a broader sense than the two Wikipedia definitions which cater for investors and for corporate.  I believe everyone should have more than one way they earn income. This applies to business, home based business owners, investors and employees. Why do I believe this?….. Because I have been burned twice by not being diversified and I learnt the lesson (pity I did not learn the first time). I will share those stories with you in later posts in this series.

For now let’s go back to the question ….. What is Diversification? What does it mean for investors, business and employees?

Investors – the Wikipedia definition is simple enough to follow. We have all heard the sayings “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket”, “spread you risk”.

I have heard people put forward the argument against diversification saying that you can only really understand one asset class well. For example if I love Residential Property and know how to be an astute investor in that area then I am better to stick with that rather than also have investments in stocks and shares.

The downside is if you pick any one type of investment in isolation there will be downturns. Diversifying can smooth out the overall ups and downs.

Corporate/Business – again the Wikipedia definition is a good one. I will discuss my own experience and what not diversifying cost me in this series. A business that does not diversify is at risk. Products and trends change now at an ever increasing speed. We have seen many businesses who have not kept up with change become obsolete.

Home Based Business – multiple streams of income protects the home based business owner in exactly the same way as having a conventional business.

Employees – The days of job security are far behind us. We have witnessed this in a very large way through the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). It is also very difficult to create wealth and a secure future with just a job. It is important to build up other sources of income. This could be investments or a home based business.

One of the best alternatives for employees is to start a home based business part time. The income from this could then be used to invest in property, stocks or other assets. Many people with significant incomes from home based businesses started the business while they were an employee. I think this is a great strategy.

In Summary – Diversification reduces our risk and also provides us with multiple options for our financial security.

In part two of this series I will share with you my personal story of being a sole distributor and the lessons I learned. I tell these stories as I hope others can learn from my experiences.

Please leave me your comments below. I love to hear what you think. Please  also share this post with your Twitter and FB friends by clicking on the share buttons. I appreciate you telling others.

There is no doubt the internet has changed our lives dramatically. Most of us can hardly remember how we got by with out it.

While the changes have been embraced by most people there was a period of time when some people feared we would all lose our ability to communicate with each other and be sitting on computers with no human interaction.  This is one of the reasons video is so important and is becoming increasingly popular.  It allows us to have face to face communication with each other and develop deeper relationships.

Recently we have seen new technology emerge providing us with  the ability to hold webinars and conferencing using video.  I personally love this technology for many reasons that I share on this video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Video Webinars
Webinars have been growing in popularity for years now. I personally love them as they are very time and cost efficient.  Webinars can be used for many things including:

• Education
• Training
• Product launches
• Customer updates
• Professional Development
• Personal Development

Video Conferencing
The platform I use allows for 100 people to be online and for 12 of those to be on camera. Some uses for this include:

• Staff meetings
• Training
• Any type of business meeting
• Association meetings
• Club meetings
• I am sure you can think of more…….

Advantages

• Significantly cuts expensive travel costs
• Cuts out venue costs
• Increases productivity as no time wasted traveling to and from a meeting
• They can be held  anywhere anytime
• Very affordable service

And the benefits do not have to be only business. This platform allows you to connect with family and friends all around the world.

I have chosen WowWe as my provider of this technology. They offer video emails as well as the video conferencing and webinars.  If you have not tried video email you can get a Free Video Email Account here.

I use their paid service as I want to use the conferencing service as well as the email. It is a very affordable at US$20 a month. I have also become an affiliate with WowWe which cost $50 so again a very low entry point. I love their Multi-tier Affiliate Marketing platform. If you are interested in knowing more just let me know at sue@suejprice.com

I would love to hear what you think. Do you think this could be a worthwhile service for your business?

Please  share this post with your Twitter and FB friends by clicking on the share buttons. I appreciate you telling others.