You make me Smile

What does Elvis, Smokey the Bear, Smiles and Clowns have in common? They all are recognized in August. August brings the last month of summer fun, the beginning of school for many, and fall will be right around the corner. This month has an eclectic list of holidays. Some of my favorites for this month include the observance the first week of 'National Smile Week' and it is also 'National Clown Week.' Which came first, the clown or the smile? And then we end the month with 'Be Kind to Humankind Week.' So I challenge everyone to give your fellow humankind a great big smile everyday. Sending a 'heartfelt card' just because' is always a sure way to put a smile on someone's face.

The world always looks brighter from behind a smile.

~Author Unknown

Post your comments about what you have to smile about.

Month Observances
Occasion	Link
Children's Eye Health and Safety Month	Prevent Blindness America
Cataract Awareness Month	Prevent Blindness America
Foot Health Month	Dr. Scholls
National Cat Fish Month	Loyal Order of Catfish Lovers
National Golf Month	Professional Golfers Association
National Parks Month	National Parks and Conservation
Medic Alert Month	Medic Alert Society
Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month	Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy

First Full Week
Occasion	Link
Clown Week	Clowns of America Inc.
World Breastfeeding Week	La Leche League
National Smile Week	Heloise

Second Week
Occasion	Link
Elvis Week	Graceland

Fourth Week
Occasion	Link
Be Kind to Humankind Week	Lorraine Jara

August-4 - Coast Guard Day

August-5 - Sister`s Day

August-6 - Atomic Bomb Day

August-9 - Smokey Bear`s Birthday (Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires)

August-14 - V.J. Day

August-16 - Bennington Battle Day (Vermont)

August-16 - King's Death (Elvis)

August-19 - National Aviation Day

August-20 - National Homeless Animals Day

August 25 - My Birthday

August-26 - Women's Equality Day

August-27 - Petroleum Day (Texas)

And the Quirky Holidays from WellCat
(these will always put a Smile on your face.)

Aug 7	Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day -- Buy anything lately? Did you ever succeed in getting the durn thing open? What do older people do when even mainstream society can’t open a simple bottle of aspirin, let alone a milk carton?
Aug 8	Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbors' Porch Day -- Due to overzealous planting of zucchini, citizens are asked to drop off baskets of the squash on neighbors’ doorsteps.
Aug 18	Bad Poetry Day -- After all the “good” poetry you were forced to study in school, here’s a chance for a pay back. Invite some friends over, compose some really rotten verse, and send it to your old high school teacher.
Aug 22	Southern Hemisphere Hoodie-Hoo Day -- Long awaited by our Southern-half friends, this is the day to go outdoors at high noon and yell "Hoodie-Hoo" to chase winter and make ready for spring. Annually, celebrated one month before the Autumnal Equinox.
Aug 28	Race Your Mouse Around the Icons Day -- While you're waiting for whatever it is to finally come up on your screen, race your mouse in and around the icons. Do it, and you'll feel peppy.
Aug 28	Crackers Over The Keyboard Day -- Live it up. Be free. Take some crackers and cookies to work and eat right over top of the keyboard. Show ‘em you’re still a free thinker.
Aug 29	More Herbs, Less Salt Day -- It’s healthier, zestier and lustier!
Aug 31	Love Litigating Lawyers Day -- Lawyer jokes abound, but when push comes to shove, these are the folks who can end up saving the day.

Keep on Smiling,
Annette
Painted Lady Enterprises
"Helping You and Your Business Look Good"

Time for Celebration!

Today I am celebrating finding an amazing service three years ago and I want to give you a gift. Be sure and read to the very end to find out what my gift to you is.

Three years ago I was searching on the internet for information on The Laws of Attraction. I was clicking on various websites and I happened on a forum about LOA. I read the posts and noticed a signature link about greeting cards. I have always been a card sender so it intrigued me. I clicked on the link and filled out the form to request to send a free card. I thought that if the service really did what it said it did, I would be one of their best customers. A little while later I received a phone call giving me the link to the website to send my greeting card. I tried it and was immediately hooked. It DID do everything described and More! I knew I had to have this amazing system. I wouldn't have to go to the card store again. I could truly customize and personalize my cards. It would remind me when to send the cards. I could type my message in the cards and it would come out in my handwriting. I could add photos to the cards. It was to good to be true. I wanted it. For the next three days I did my due diligence and searched the web for what else was out there that was comparable. (I was really searching for a better price. I wanted all the bells and whistles, but I'm also a frugal person so I wanted to know if there was anything else available.) I found some other services, but none offered all the features and they all cost more. So after three days of thought, research, and asking questions I signed up for the Entrepreneur account. My plan was to use it for business as well as personal use, because I was buying about 15 to 30 greeting cards a month. With this service the cards costs a whole lot less than the store brand cards and I didn't have to go to the store or the post office. That saved me time and and lots of money. I could also schedule cards to be mailed ahead of time.

It gets even better. You know how when you find something that's really great you want to tell all your friends about it. Well, I started showing this to a few friends and business acquaintances and they wanted to sign up too. Hmmmm.....I thought this is to easy. It got me to thinking and looking at the advantages offed by this company. The benefits were very appealing. I decided to change my business focus and re-vamped my product offers and marketing and never looked back. To date I have sent over 4050 cards.

This is truly a home based business that anyone who believes in gratitude and showing appreciation can do.

You only need a phone, a computer, and the desire to show and tell people about this amazing product.

No home parties
No opportunity meetings
No inventory
A company with a 5 year track record and growing
Unique product
It's Easy and convenient to use
No high monthly volume required
Product that compliments every business
Product for individual use
Widely used product for both men and woman (in fact the top people in the company are men)
It's International
Minimal start up costs
Competitively priced for consumer
Balance of right now money and residual money
And best of all - It's FUN!

So, what is the gift I'm offering to you?

Chocolate! - I want to give away as many Greeting Card Gift accounts today (and until the end of the month) as possible, so for every person who goes to my website - www.remembergreetingcards.com/paintedlady - fills out the form (and be sure and tell me where you heard about this offer.) I will send you a link to send a free greeting card. When you send one greeting card, Your name will then be placed in a drawing to receive Chocolate Brownies - Yum! So if you have never taken advantage of sending a free card from me, do so now and you just might win Chocolate Brownies. I will draw at the end of July, notify the winner, and post the winner here.

Receive extra chances to win by telling your friends about this offer. Just send me the names of those who you send this offer to and when they send their free card, you will receive another chance to receive Free Brownies. Or tell them to list your name on the form to request their free greeting card.

Thank you for your time and your business. Have a Fabulous Friday!

In gratitude,
Annette - Happy Card Sender!
Painted Lady Enterprises
"Helping You and Your Business Look Good"

Twitter on Steroids

Image via CrunchBase

I attended a Social Media class today. It was great to learn all about the neat tools that helps to automate social media, Twitter in particular. It helped to have someone to explain all the different tools and how that would enhance your Twittering. This is not to take away from the personal touch of online networking, but it is the extender of Twitter. The advantage of using these tools is that it saves time. It's like having a personal assistant helping you. Being a busy person, like most everyone else, I just don't have the time to be on the computer all day long. Like any other tools, they help make work easier. I believe these are going to help me tremendously.

Here is a list of some of the Twitter Tools to check out:

- TwitBack - To Personalize and Brand your Twitter back ground.
- HootSuite - Integrates Twitter accounts
- HootLet - Shortens URLs
- TweetLater - Productivity Tools
- TwitterFeed - RSS feed from Blog to Twitter
- BubbleTweet - Video
- TweetGrid - Search Tweets for specific topics
- Monitter - Customize search by geography
- Zemanta - Tool to assist in blog writing


Wow, I'm amazed at all of these wonderful tools. I look forward to using them. Do you have some that you use and find useful? Would love to hear about them.

Thanks to MultiTasking Moms for hosting the event. Thanks Bill Reichart for the wonderful instruction. Thanks Blonde Affliate for your wonderful support and encouragement.

In gratitude,
Annette
Painted Lady Enterprises
"Helping You and Your Business Look Good"

Lessons Learned on Branding from Celebrities

For the past week all we've heard on the news has been about Michael Jackson. The following is from my favorite 'marketing guru,' Liz Goodgold. She tells us about lessons we can learn from celebrities in regards to branding.

What You Can Learn from Michael Jackson

Given the unexpected death of Michael Jackson, it’s only fitting to take a moment to see him as both an icon and a brand.

Michael’s success speaks for itself: best-selling record of all time (Thriller), amazing videos boosting MTV’s image (Billie Jean, Dangerous), and chart toppers (The Girl is Mine, Bad, P.Y.T., Black or White). He earned his place as a brand for many reasons, but let’s take a look at a few of them:

He had a Nickname:
All of the greats have one; he took The King of Pop.

Here are others:

Descriptive Name / Performance Name

First Lady of Soul - Aretha Franklin
King of Soul - James Browne
The Boss - Bruce Springsteen
The Queen of Country Music - Kitty Wells
Chairman of the Board - Frank Sinatra
Rhinestone Cowboy - Glenn Campbell


What’s the Hot Lesson? Nicknames are tremendously powerful. You only come up with them if you care about a brand. If you’re indifferent, you won’t waste a moment creating one. Most importantly, however, nicknames are a sign of endearment: You are so special that you deserve a special name.

If you’re still struggling with a catchy name, think back into your childhood. Ask your parents, siblings, and childhood playmates if there are any nicknames or pet names they remember using for you.

He Had a Strong Visual Brand - Whether it was the flood pants with socks showing, the hat, or the white glove, there was a distinctive Michael Jackson look. Oh, and let’s not forget the famous moonwalk!

Here is the key:

People become celebrity brands when they can be imitated.

If you’ve ever tried to change your accent, play down a personality trait, or banish a word from your vocabulary, stop! You too can start building a strong brand by embracing all of your quirks, mannerisms, and style.

by Liz Goodgold, branding expert, author, and speaker. Sign up for her FREE BRAND FINALE newsletter with valuable information at www.redfirebranding.com.”

How have you branded yourself or your business? What businesses can you think of that have outstanding branding?

Mine, of course, is Painted Lady. Often I meet people that don't know me by my given name, but they do know me as The Painted Lady. I'm flattered because I know my branding works. If you're wondering where the name comes from; it's from my love of butterflies. There is a species of butterfly called The Painted Lady.

I was recently denied 'PaintedLady' as a user name on Wikipedia as they thought it was inappropriate. Guess they don't know anything about butterflies.

To Your Branding Success,
Annette AKA The Painted Lady
Painted Lady Enterprises
"Helping You and Your Business Look Good"