Staci is marking her calendar – October 5th – Leading Moms in Business – StartUp Nation Competition 2010 winner to be announced…

Details from StartUp Nation website:

About the 2010 StartupNation Leading Moms in Business Competition

The Voting & Entry Phase has ended. Winners will be announced on October 5, 2010. You may still check out all the competitors.

Welcome to the one and only ranking focused on those can-do moms who run families and businesses at the same time.

The 2010 StartupNation Leading Moms in Business competition will rank the top 200 mom-run businesses across the United States as determined by the combination of popular vote and the special recognition of our judges for certain outstanding contestants.

Selection Process and Important Dates

The StartupNation judges will review the top 200 vote getters and select businesses from among those to highlight as “Most Outstanding” in specialized categories and themes developed during the judging process.

  • May 1, 2010: Registration and voting begins on.
  • August 31, 2010: You can enter your business until midnight Pacific Time on.
  • September, 2010: Judging and vote tabulation will occur throughout September. StartupNation will select a variety of moms from among the finalists and create editorial feature stories about them.
  • October 5, 2010: Winners are announced.

For us at StartupNation, our hope is to make the biggest possible positive impact on mom-run businesses and we appreciate your help in spreading the word and shining the spotlight on these inspiring women.

Note from STACI: I wish the best to each winner of this year’s competition – it would be truly an honor! :)

Finding Your Passion Series: Finding Your Passion Even if You Are Already Aged

If you are at the point in your life when you feel like you are already too old to pursue the route in finding your passion, stop the thought. No one is too old or neither too young to go where they really want to go. If you will surrender to defeat, you will never know what could have happened if only you have allowed yourself to take risks in order to attain what you heart wants you to.

Age doesn’t matter when it comes to pursuing what will make you feel complete. This is necessary so that when you finally cannot muster strength to move forward, you can always look back at your achievements with fulfillment in your heart.

Age Is Not a Factor

As you go through life, there are many phases that you have to conquer before you can proclaim success over various ventures. You may have different priorities when you were younger, which may be the reason why you have not really focused into realizing what your real passion is. This can be easy and this can be done. But life gets more complicated as you age, reason why you tend to neglect to remember what you really want to achieve in the first place.

When you were young, you think that you have to succeed no matter what. This is an ideal mindset because you owe it to the people who helped raise you up to be better and to excel in whatever path you have chosen to walk on. And in order to succeed, some people choose to set aside their inner longings to give in to the opportunities that are being presented to them the moment that they need these. They grab on to these opportunities thinking like after they have earned good money and saved up a lot, they will go back to what they really want and pursue their passion.

Some people never get the chance to look back. Once they feel like they are already settled in the environment that they have chosen to be in, they fear that they will lose everything if they will let it go to pursue something that they are not really sure what the outcome will be. So they decide to stay in the place where they are even though they feel like they are stuck with it. If you are doing something that you don’t really like, you will feel like life is dragging you to do things. You are creating your own prison where you are making calculated moves and you know exactly what to do whenever anything goes wrong.

Once you get too comfortable with this scenario, you will likely be afraid to come out of it. So you have to take a risk before you get into such state. If you will allow yourself to be a prisoner of that situation where you are being driven by money, you will find it to go back to the point when you have promised your passion that you will get back at it. That promise is important because you owe it to yourself to make this happen. This way, once you are old and you have accomplished so much, you will see light on what really matters if you have followed your guts to lead you in fulfilling your dreams.

Finding your passion can still be achieved even if you are already old. You just have to set your heart and mind to it to be able to attain your goals.

Finding Your Passion Series: Finding Your Passion and Earning in the Process

Do you know that you can actually earn from the results of your hard work in finding your passion? And that is not the only goal that you will likely get in the process. If you feel like you are stuck in your current job, you have to rethink your life and where you are taking it. You are the driver of your own vehicle and you decide where you will go. But you are only human so you must be open for mistakes and other challenges that life may bring along your journey.

Living to earn is very different from earning a living. With the latter, you can be more adventurous. Life can be more fun, especially when you are pursuing the things that you really like and earning money in the process. This is the reason why people who have chosen an unlikely route just so they can earn good amount of cash will likely feel the downside of their decision at some point on their lives.

Comfort Zone

Are you at a place where you feel like you are already too comfortable? This is not really a good thing. If you have been working the same job, which was not what you really wanted to do deep in your heart, through time, you will be able to master the craft. You will know how to work your way through the job where you won’t get into any trouble. You will get your job done, you will be paid, then you will have to work over and over again the same tasks every day. This set up may be giving you enough money to live by. But are your living the life that you really wanted to attain? If not, then maybe it is time to get out of your comfort zone.

You have to take risks in order to know your capabilities. You must not be afraid to fail because that is part of the whole ballgame. You just have to learn from your own mistakes.

Earning from Your Passion

If you really love what you are doing, you will eventually excel on it. You can even pursue your passion as a side project aside from your real job. This is ideal for people who are afraid to lose their main source of income. Your passion can actually bring in more cash if you will be able to utilize them well to your advantage. For example, you are good in writing or painting. You only have to use your talents, hone them and soon enough, you will surprise everyone that your passion has led you to more profitable source of income.

If you will open yourself to these kinds of possibilities, there will come a time when you can comfortably choose your passion and drop the job that you don’t really like and earn as much as well. This is a very ideal situation because when you love what you are doing, it will show in the quality of work that you are producing. It will also reflect on how you live your life and your attitude towards anything that you may encounter as you go through it.

But setting the right goals and finding your passion may not be as easy as it seems to be. You really have to think hard about it so that you can be led to the right course.

Website Hosting Checklist – How To Find The Right Provider

Choosing a website host is an important decision. You want a host that is affordable. However, you also want a website host that offers the features and functions you need. Here’s a quick checklist to make sure you’re finding the right provider.

Is their control panel user friendly? Many hosts offer free demonstrations or tours. Take advantage of these to make sure it’s a control panel that makes sense and is easy to use.

Building your own site or looking for a website builder too? Some website hosts offer site building tools. These can be wonderfully useful if you’re not interested in getting into the technological side of building a website. However, if you are building your own website using any number of software programs or languages, make sure the host has FTP transfer. This is the system you’ll use to upload your web pages to your host’s server.

Can you upload your files easily? Some website hosts are only compatible with certain file types. Make sure your website builder of choice works with your host before you pay for their services.

Are they big enough for your needs? Look for data space, bandwidth and file size limitations. You don’t need to go crazy however a host does need to accommodate your current needs and give you some room to grow.

Server reliability. Occasional downtime is expected however it should be rare and you should be forewarned when the servers are going to be down. Ideally, your host’s server should be up and running 99% of the time.

Security. If you’re doing business online then security is a must. Even if you’re not doing business online, you’ll want to do everything you can to protect your website from hackers. A secure host is essential.

Features and functions. What do you need your website to have?  Do you need a shopping cart, email or autoresponders? Do you need to be able to sell advertising? Do you want analytic and reporting functions to track traffic and website visitor behavior?  Make sure your website host has all the features and functions you need before you sign up and transfer your domain.

User reviews. This is the last thing to look at once you’ve narrowed down yoru choices and before you compare price. Make sure the company has a solid reputation in the industry. There are a lot of resellers out there, you also want to make sure you’re dealing with an acutal hosting company and not a reseller – you’ll get a better price and better customer support.

Finally, it’s time to compare price. If a website host meets all of the above criteria and fits your budget, you’ve found a good company. There are many wonderful website hosts out there. Spend a bit of time researching based on your needs and you can’t go wrong.

In March, I switched from GoDaddy to MomWebs hosting – I have been very happy with MomWebs and feel more in control of my website. If there is something I am unsure of – I know I can ask them and trust their response. Can you say that you trust your hosting – the company that keeps your website up 24/7 so you can earn money while you sleep?

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Performing and Applying Keyword Research


Keyword research is one of the most important aspects of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). That is why it is so important to perform critical research before you formulate your list of keywords. Then you must apply and continually manage those keywords in order for your SEO efforts to really make a difference.

Create an initial list.

Before you actually begin the SEO process, try to first come up with an initial list of keywords that you think you may want to go after. These should include obvious keywords that are most relevant to your business and words and/or phrases that pertain to your industry.

Find out with how well your site is currently ranking.

There are a number of valuable tools available on the Internet that allow you to find out how well your site is ranking. You can find out where your site current falls within searches as well as which keywords are allowing your site to rank. If you are already ranking for particular keywords, start with a focus on improving your rank with those. However, don’t limit yourself. You will probably need to optimize for new, additional keywords in order to truly improve your rankings.

Use a keyword suggestion tool.

While you don’t want to conclude your keyword list with hundreds of words that are unattainable and unrealistic to top, keyword suggestion tools can be extremely helpful in the creation of your list. They are a great way to also discover keywords and phrases you may not have thought of. Google and Wordtracker are the most popular tools, but others are available. However, be aware that not all keyword research and suggestion tools are free.

Finalize and prioritize your keyword list.

Once you finalize your list of keywords, you will want to prioritize that list. Begin by assigning a priority percentage to each keyword, with the most relevant keyword having the highest percentage to the least relevant keyword with the lowest percentage. Think of it this way: What percentage of customers is searching for each particular word? Are 100% of your customers searching for any particular keyword? Probably not. Just use common sense.

Your list of keywords should be ever-changing.

Once you go live with your new SEO efforts, you will want to keep a close eye on how well your new keywords are performing. Which keywords are being searched the most and generating the most traffic? Which keywords are performing as expected? Which keywords are exceeding your expectations? Which keywords are not doing as well as you expected? Pay attention to trends, good and bad, and revise as often as necessary without harming your efforts that are working.

SEO, especially successful SEO, takes time. It takes patience and most importantly, it requires a lot of attention. But ultimately, it will pay off if you not only keep up with it, but truly invest your time and energy into making it the best it can be.

Leading Moms in Business 2010 Competition is almost ending…

Leading Moms in Business 2010 Competition by StartUpNation has been a truly rewarding experience. It has showed me that within being at my computer and not meeting someone that you can bound with them and share a virtual experience. I have many virtual friends and this competition has showed that to me with everyone’s support through comments or a quick email reply – “I am voting for you Staci” or “Clicking on it daily to vote for you Staci” — how about that!

This is when I know I have support and it shows. Thank you for every vote and every comment and EVERY BLESSING – my family could not be any happier than we are right now because I can be home with my 2 kids while working to bring in what money we need. My daughter will beginning preschool in a few weeks which will start a new chapter for her – but I am ready for it! She will be able to socialize with others and I am proud to say – I can afford the monthly payment to send her to preschool and she can be friends with other 3-year-olds too!

I will leave you with these few comments from my page on StartUpNation:

STACI JANSMA, YOUR ONLINE 24/7 VIRTUAL ASSISTANT

August 28, 2010

Regina Baker says I *Heart* working with Staci Jansma. She’s smart, timely and very efficient with every thing that she does. Her communication is open and she keeps on top of things at all times. Her cheerful attitude and willing to do what it takes to get the job done is refreshing. Thanks Staci ~ you ROCK ;-)

August 28, 2010

Tanya Watson says Everyone has stated how great Staci is above. I just wanted to share I agree with everyone! She is more than “just a VA”, she’s a mom who honestly wants to raise her kids at home while making a comfortable living working from home. And she found her place here online. Staci, you ROCK! I put a blog post up asking more people to vote for you as well. You deserve this for sure!

August 28, 2010

Karen Murdock says As the contest draws to a close, Staci has made the following significant contributions to my business that I think should be included since I last wrote: Staci has assisted with the launch and promotion of our second edition book, revised our Media Kit, facilitated the release of our Documentary, transitioned our web-site and oversaw it’s re-development, distributed press releases and articles, managed our You Tube, Facebook, blog and Twitter accounts. To what result? Our Facebook Fan Page quadrupled, our Twitter followers doubled, our You Tube views increased by 40%, our web-site had visitors from 41 countries last month alone, our media links doubled, I’ve been booked for a speaking engagement, and we’ve been on Inside Edition twice!! I have yet to find anything that Staci cannot do or figure out while all the while showing courtesy, efficiency and enthusiasm.

Use Keyword Generators Sparingly


Of course it is helpful to use a keyword generation tool to help you complete your keyword list. Not only will it help you round out your list with keywords and phrases you may not have thought of, but it also gives you ideas on what others may be searching around your topic.

Take the keyword “copywriting” as an example. A copywriter might think of obvious keywords to optimize for, like “copywriter” and “copywriting” but may not think to optimize for “copy writer” and “copy writing”. Believe it or not, people often search for products and services by using common misspellings and because they are misspelled so often, the search engines recognize them as actual searches. This requires creativity and know-how on your part.

So, for these reasons and more, keyword generators can be and are very useful tools. However, they are not meant to do your SEO work for you. In other words, they are there for guidance and word generation. They are not meant to serve as keyword managers nor do they have the ability to create entire SEO campaigns for your business.

Only you can create the best, most effective list of keywords for your website and it should be completely unique. Why? Because your business, although it may be one of many in its field, is one of a kind. Therefore, you should optimize it as such. After all, that is what sets you apart and will continue to set you apart as you gain new customers from well planned and effectively executed keyword optimization.

How to put your keywords to work


We all know what keywords are, how to find them and why they are important. But are you sure how to use them? Here are a few ways that you can apply keywords to your site in order to make them work for you and improve your ranking.

Optimize your content. Keywords will only be helpful to you if they appear organically within your site content. What does that mean? It means they must be part of your copy without seeming forced or out of place.

For example: Take the keyword phrase “terrible twos”.

Organic ? “The terrible twos can be extremely difficult to manage.”

Inorganic ? “A difficult toddler who has the terrible twos might be in the terrible twos stage.”

Believe it or not, search engines (particularly Google) are smart enough to recognize content that is inorganically loaded with keywords. Weaving keywords throughout your website content takes time, expertise and strong writing skills. If you are not equipped to do this, consider hiring a professional copywriter who is well versed in SEO and able to write quality keyword-driven content for your site.

Meta Tags. Meta tags are the information that is included in the header of your website on each page. Viewers to your website can not see meta tags, but they can be viewed in HTML. They provide information to browsers as well as search engines which ultimately impacts your rankings. If your meta tags are named correctly, they will help with your SEO efforts.

Meta keyword tags should always: include keywords that you have specifically chosen to optimize; be separated by commas, not spaces; only appear once; and are frequently updated and continually managed.

While keywords can be put to use in many ways, content and meta tags are a great place to start. Conquering these two aspects of keyword SEO is an essential piece to the puzzle and will help to ensure your SEO campaign is a success.

Are you checking your Google Analytic’s on a Monthly basis?

Check Google Analytics. Use this data to learn the basics of analytics and use it as a reference point while link building.