I had the opportunity last month to give a presentation for the Chamber of Commerce on "Being Small, Looking Big." My co-presenter, Lorin Beller, has a program called Big Fish Nation, and she talked about the internal shifts that take place when you determine how "big" you intend your business to be - and how that varies from person to person. I spoke about the external marketing and communications decisions that can make very small businesses seem bigger. My notes from the presentation are summarized in this month's free article, Being Small, Looking Big.

And I encourage anyone who is looking for a personal/business development program to invest in, check out Big Fish Nation.

I have been working with Barbara Phillips, a nurse practitioner in the state of Washington since early summer to build a web based project called Older Wiser Women. We started with a logo, which I hope you will agree is pretty funky! From there, the web site began to grow into a resource and place where Barbara can collect stories from older, wiser women, for a book she is writing.

The web site is an ongoing project and is growing every week. If you are a well seasoned lady with a story to tell, I encourage you to become part of the Older, Wiser Women family!

If you are like most people, you have learned to "float" checks and do the 'ol "Rob Peter to Pay Paul" routine out of necessity. I don't usually focus on financial or banking topics but since I have you here, I wanted to pass on some news about a major change in the banking industry which is going to hurt a LOT of small businesses as well as cash strapped individuals.

Last year, the US government passed a new law called Check 21. In a nutshell, what it means is that the time it takes to clear a check will be drastically shortened, to within a day. So, if you are one to send a check and count on a 2-3 day processing period, that will no longer happen. The law goes into effect on October 28th. It is predicted that there are going to be a lot of late fees hitting people who aren't aware of it. Even worse, you could lose low rates on credit cards and face other penalties if the amount of the check is not there the day your check is deposited. So consider this a heads up!

My late grandmother Rose was well known for talking to strangers. At the bank, the post office, the grocery store, she always talked to strangers. And when my grandfather called her "Nosy Rosie," she just replied "I'm not nosy! I'm INTERESTED!" The older I get, the more I realize I'm just like her. Last week, I was in line for a latte and started chatting with a man behind me. I asked a question, which lead to him asking me what I did that I could be out of work at 11:00 a.m. getting coffee. One thing led to another and it turned out he needed a web site for his general contracting business.

This got me thinking about how much of my business actually comes from talking to strangers, when not even in "business mode" and how being sincerely nosy (er, interested) in other people leads to the relationship building that is so crucial to small business marketing. Don't be shy - give it a try! You never know where it might lead!

Welcome to two new corporate identity and web site clients - Kim Doey, Century 21 Omaha, Nebraska and Michael Santarcangelo, one of the top IT security experts in the country. Cornell University was so thrilled with the report I designed for them this summer that they've hired me for a new contract. Fall is looking HOT around here!