Generally, I don’t have too many quirks because I use a Mac.  If you use a Mac you understand what I am talking about! Macs are awesome! However, I ran into a quirk with my Fireworks CS5 program and spent hours on what I found out was a quick and painless fix!

The Problem

After clicking to open the Fireworks CS5 program the lovely rainbow spinning wheel, just kept spinning!  The program was hanging and could not open.

The Do It Yourself Techie Girl

Searching for hours trying and implementing online “solutions” to the problem.

The FIX

So, I’d like to say that I figured it out and was on my merry way, which would make me feel super smart!!!!  But, on the other hand, what does a super smart girl do in this situation?  I CALLED ADOBE!!  When you are in a hurry and need to get a project done, sometimes the best solution is to go to the source!  They were awesome and I had the solutions I needed and my problem fixed in 10 to 15 mins! Thank you ADOBE!

The Adobe dude knew immediately that I had a damaged preference file (I was close at least….I had been doing some troubleshooting in the preference files! Just had to throw that in there! )  I had to make a few changes to my folders and I was on my way.

If you are having this problem go here ==> http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/904/cpsid_90439.html <== I’m sending you straight to the source for the solution!

On this lovely adventure, I found out that my “Library” folder is hidden in Mac OSX Lion.  I hadn’t even noticed yet!

So if you are searching for this folder it’s easy to find (not as easy as it use to be in previous OSX version though).  Just follow these steps.

1. Go to your finder window.
2. Click on the “Go” dropdown and then click “Go to Folder”
3. In the “Go To Folder” window that pops up; enter this: ~/Library
4. Click Go

Your library folders should now be displayed in your finder window.

Easy fix!  I hope that if you experience this problem you will find this post helpful!

As I reflect back on 2011, I am so thankful for the awesome year that it was for my biz, but I also see a lot of areas that need improvement.  Of course, I am my own worst critic!

I wanted to make up for some of my shortcomings though.  So I decided to host a big holiday giveaway this year!  Who knows…it may become an annual event that I host.  Of course, you all know that I am a big Headway Theme for WordPress fan!  Imagine my excitement when they donated a license to the theme for the giveaway!  Yes!!! Exciting stuff!

There’s lots of other goodies for Entrepreneurs in the Giveaway to kick of 2012 with a major bang!

Check it out here: http://www.jenzsite.com/holiday

Let’s ROCK out in 2012!

Ready to take a look?

Please click here for my guest post on aliciarittenhouse.com for all the details!

I always have a more difficult time designing for myself than for someone else.  I pick, pick, pick at my own work and have a harder time committing to a design. I am never quite satisfied with what I do design for myself or two days later I think of something that I would like better. So, eventually as time allows I make the changes.

Everything on the web is in constant transition. You have to be on your toes to keep up with everything. Plugins, platforms, and themes are constantly updating, therefore website owners should be constantly updating. As a designer, I want to be on top of all the latest solutions to keep my client’s sites working at maximum productivity levels. We’ve all been there… a WordPress update rolls around and a plugin stops working. Time to find a new one that obviously not only works, but also works better! I try to stay ahead by testing out and trying new things on my site first.

I love WordPress and the Headway theme.  I want to know everything there is to know about both of these platforms. I am a strong believer that there is always something to learn. We should always strive to improve our skills and expand our knowledge base.  Headway is an extremely flexible theme that allows for so much customization that it’s possibilites are endless, therefore with endless possibilites it will take a long time to try and test them all out, right?!?!?

I get very excited about Headway. I have been able to create all of the different looks on my site all by using Headway! I sure wish I would have taken screenshots of my site in it’s various stages. I have had a fluid header, fixed header, widgets in the footer and header, cool placements of images to dress up the site, changed the look of my comment areas….so many options! OPTIONS = FUN!!!!

Last but not least, I am trying to keep up with facebook.  ;)

So, what do you think? Healthy obsession?

What do you find yourself obsessing about in your biz?

How does a VA rejuvenate your business?

• Gives you more time to focus on what you excel at in your biz
• Gives you more time to spend with your family and friends
• Takes some of the pressure off of you
• Gives you more energy to focus on other tasks of your biz
• Gives you the ability to take vacations and not be completed STRESSED!
• Gives you more money, rather than paying a full time employee
• More ideas, energy, and guidance to fresh things up

All of the listed items above, put a little bounce in your step and are sure to rejuvenate not only your business, but YOU!

Ready for a little R&R?

A Virtual Assistant can often have many roles within a business.  However, a little R&R is provided consistently among VA’s no matter the role.

The first “R” is “Refresh.”

How does a VA “Refresh” your biz?

It goes something like this:

• Refresh your online presence by always providing fresh content
• Refresh your biz by being up to date on the latest software and online platforms
• Refresh your marketing effort by integrating social media strategies
• Refresh your image by keeping photos and graphics up to date
• Refresh your creativity; another member to your team always brings input and more ideas
• Refresh your energy ~ more time to focus on the areas in which you excel
• Refresh your schedule ~ freeing more time on that calendar of yours!

Those are just some of the areas in which a VA “refreshes” your biz!

Come back Friday for the second “R”!

1. Follow tweeters that you perceive as potential clients.
2. Engage and connect with your followers by posting @ messages to them.
3. Limit the amount of tweets that you spend “selling” your biz, the majority of your time should be spent connecting.
4. Be personal, but professional.
5. Retweet posts from your following.
6. Find a way to stand out and be exciting. You want to be retweeted as well!
7. Use Twitter to expand other social media outlets (Facebook and LinkedIn).
8. Do not auto DM, there is no impact and it is viewed more as spam than a pleasant greeting!
9. Use a picture of YOU as your profile pic! It is more personal and tweeters will know it’s a real account and not a spammer account.
10. Answer questions from other tweeters to gain creditability.
11. Choose 3 different followers per day and reach out to them with a pleasant greeting.
12. Host tweet ups or twitter chats using a hashtag. (example #yourbrand)
13. Create a hashtag for your brand.
14. Use common hashtags with your tweets. (example #leadership)
15. Use a platform to manage all of your social media accounts in one place.  Examples: Hootsuite; Market Me Suite
16. Provide valuable information in your tweets.
17. Use links whenever possible.
18. Tweet pictures.
19. Respond and welcome new followers.
20. Maintain a daily twitter presence. (can be tough, but use the platforms above to schedule your tweets)

Good luck in growing your following!  Do you have any fabulous twitter tips to share?

A great plugin is Google Fonts.  The Google Font plugin gives you the ability to select a font from their huge list of open-source fonts and add them to your site.

You can even specify where you would like the font used.  As you can see on my site, I am using the font “Aubrey” in the navigation, sidebar headers, and post titles and I am also using the font “Over the Rainbow” in the widget titles in the footer.

My theme only worked with certain parts of the Google Font plugin.  I had to add in CSS to utilize it for the areas you are seeing the “Aubrey” font.  Google also makes it easy to add in the CSS if necessary.  After you choose your font, you can grab a code to add to the CSS of your theme.  I do not recommend this method if you are not familiar with coding or editing the CSS as you can royally screw up your site!

I am still debating on if I want to change the font in the body of my website! I do have many choices with Google fonts! How fun!

Be sure to check out the plugin: Google Fonts Plugin

And of course Google Web Fonts!

Do you love fonts? What font are you using on your site? Do you plan on trying out this plugin? Or maybe you are currently using the plugin?

P.S. For Headway users, I actually added the font into the Visual Editor. Then I could choose where I wanted to use it, set the size, etc.

What is Google Alerts? It is a FREE service from Google (of course) that provides email notifications of your keyword choices.

For example, you own Sally’s Awesome Coaching.  You can set an alert to notify you when something is said about “Sally’s Awesome Coaching” online.

You can use the alerts to stay on top of news events, sports, celebrities, and even your competition.

You can also set how often you are sent the results and where the results will come from (news, blogs, videos, etc.).

Examples of how Google Alerts can be utilized:

• Keep track of online chatter on a new book
• Keep track of certain topics to create ideas for upcoming blog posts
• Track your industry or keywords regarding to your industry
• Track news surrounding an upcoming event you are attending
• Track your ideal client or track buzz surrounding current clients

The list could go on and on because there are so many ways one could use this awesome service.

Check out this “Getting Started Guide” from Google.

Or go here: Google Alerts to set your alert.

Are you using Google Alerts? What other creative ways can this service be utilized for biz owners?

Summer can be an overwhelming time for the online business owner.  It’s a time for vacations, picnics, and lots of fun events.  So how do you plan to stay on top of your tasks + have a little fun?

Why not try outsourcing?  You can outsource some of your tasks to a Virtual Assistant to free up time to go on that vacation you are so desperately needing…or to just work on other tasks to make more money!

Here are 10 tasks you can easily delegate.

1. Scheduling blog posts
2. Researching blog topics
3. Finding blog images or even videos
4. Syndicating to social media platforms
5. Generating tweets to market your products
6. Replying to posts or tweets on social media accounts
7. Making blog or website changes
8. Creating Monthly Ezine
9. Developing sales pages or other marketing materials (Powerpoints, Ebooks, etc.)
10. Collecting monthly or weekly stats

This is just a sampling of tasks an online Entrepreneur could easily outsource!