It's hard being an entrepreneur, much harder than those that aren't entrepreneurs to EVER understand. I read an article in my August 2015 Entrepreneur magazine. The author, Stephen Key, list 11 truths about being an entrepreneur and I have to say, they are ALL spot on! I live the life of an entrepreneur/business owner everyday, not making equal pay for all the hours I work and not being respected by "outsiders" whom have a whole office full of folks to help them do their jobs. Please check out all the links at the bottom of this post to read the full article and to find out more about Stephen Key. 

On that note, here's each of the 11 Truths, read the article for an explanation of each:

1. Success can be defined in many different ways. (this is my favorite truth)
"Don't make the mistake of focusing exclusively on how much money you make. I think money allows us to do things -- nothing more, nothing less. You can use money to help others. It gives us the opportunity to be generous and to do the right thing.
Don't make the mistake of focusing exclusively on how much money you make. I think money allows us to do things -- nothing more, nothing less. You can use money to help others. It gives us the opportunity to be generous and to do the right thing."

2. Becoming successful will take longer than you think it should. (my 2nd favorite truth)
"And I mean much longer. There's no way of quickly becoming successful. Don’t trust anyone who says otherwise. Those who advertise how rapid their success has been are conveniently leaving out the years they spent hustling prior. Are you in this for the long haul? If not, you might as well get out now. This profession takes dedication. I recently had the pleasure of listening to Bob Parsons, founder of GoDaddy, give a speech about his career as an entrepreneur. The advice he stressed above all else was, “Hang in there.” His point was that you have to stick with something long enough to catch a few lucky breaks and eventually become successful."

3. There's more than one way to achieve success.
4. You must be willing to make sacrifices.
5. Treat everyone with respect.
6. If someone treats you poorly from the beginning, don’t expect your relationship to improve.
7. Try to be patient.
8. Don’t try to change difficult people.
9. Have a positive attitude.
10. Tell the truth, even when it’s painful.
11. Admit when you're wrong and move on.

Article: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/249248
Stephen Key, author of the article in the July, 2015 Entrepreneur magazine.
Twitter: @stephenkeymedia
Facebook: stephenmkey
Website: http://www.inventright.com
Books by Stephen: Book List

We are now working all the Social Media Management and Social Ads for Sarah Pierce. We are also building a brand new website for Sarah that will be ready in a few weeks!

Sarah Pierce is a Country/Americana singer-songwriter and the daughter of a cowboy raised in a family of cattlemen, was born in Rockford, Illinois and raised in rural Texas and Colorado. Sarah's dream of becoming a singer began to take shape at age 12. Her stepfather, a small town doctor by day, played bass in the local country band on the weekends. Sarah had her first opportunity to perform in front of a live audience when her stepfather invited her to sing at one of his shows. This first "gig" was when Sarah realized that the stage was where she belonged - "The stage is like a big comfortable couch; I am so at home there." 

"Her lyrics daze with elegant poetry that carries the listener over wide musical vistas on each soul-bearing turn of her incomparable voice." - Los Angeles Times

Sarah is running a PledgeMusic crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for "Barbed Wire", an album she's recording right now. There are lots of great pledge gifts for anyone interested in helping Sarah and supporting our local music scene. 

As an extra incentive, pledge $15 or more to Sarah's PledgeMusic Campaign and we'll give you $20 off any service or take $20 off your next invoice.
http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/sarahpierce

Facebook was founded February 4th, 2004 in Cambridge, Massachusetts by Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, Andrew McCollum and Chris Hughes. The only users back then were students as it wasn't until September 26, 2006 that everyone aged 13 and older with a valid e-mail address was open to use Facebook. Such a brief history for a social platform that now grown close to 2.5 billion global users.  

I hear it all the time, "why are there so many ads of Facebook?" well, the answer is actually pretty clear. Never in our history as humans have we been able to connect with so many other people in one place. Facebook hit the milestone of acquiring 2 million advertising customers. Although Google still ranks first when it comes to advertising, the news is not surprising especially in the 2015 State of Marketing report that Salesforce released earlier this year. The data in this report shows just how powerful social media advertising can be. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, delivered a keynote at the Mobile World Congress 2015 summit that discussed the globalization of the internet, bringing the web to developing countries, the internet.org app, and mobile commerce. Jane Schachtel, head of Facebook's mobile strategy and technologies, detailed all the trends she expects to see. Social media advertising is bigger than ever! It's become a part of the fabric of Facebook, Twitter and Google+ and it's starting to edge in on Instagram and Pinterest too. 

Folks this is just the beginning; as long as there's money to be made, there will be ads. If you don't like the ads, either ignore them, switch to another social media platform or just do without Facebook. We were fine before it and we will be okay if it ever leaves us. 

On a side note, we offer social media advertising services...I know, seems a big "no-no" to plug this here, but the businesses that have hired us have been very happy with the results. Many of our client's reported that their lead generation is up if not double from last year's totals and their Likes/Followers have increased along with the interaction each post receives. 

This is more of a shameless promotion for our services than an actual blog post, but just trying to spread the good word!

Need help advertising on Facebook? We can help! References available from happy past clients! Our Facebook ads have helped increase page Likes and generate new sales leads! 

We're registered as a Facebook Advertising Agency and can develop a customized strategy for advertising on Facebook, provide guidance on creating targeted ads and measure and optimize campaign performance. Message us here on Facebook or visit our website for more info: http://www.austinmediaslingers.com

If you are thinking about selling on eBay, then you should consider attending eBay University. I attended in Austin, Texas back in 2005 and although I had already been selling on eBay for a few years prior, I learned a bunch of things that helped me sell more and keep my 100% eBay rating. I sold under another account with a business partner starting in the beginning of eBay until the end of 2003, then I split off and started out on my own in 2004 selling things like sports collectables, jewelry, electronics, household items, coins, and books.  I'm wickedlightphoto on eBay if you'd like to look me up.

This past year, I really haven't sold anything, but starting in 2014, I'm going to start selling again. And since so many new things have come to eBay since my inactivity, I started looking into once again, attending an eBay University class and will take the 'Building your Business on eBay for the more experience seller'. I used to run an eBay Store too and was at the 2005 eBay Conference in San Jose, CA. when 'Stores' were first announced. 

A few of my tips to being successful on eBay, at least how I've done it thus far: Get involved, learn everything you can about eBay, shipping, and your products. Always ship on time or early, provide lots of open communication between yourself and your customer, build shipping into your product price if possible as free shipping is the new norm on eBay, take quality pics and most of all, put everything about your product in the description.

eBay University Classroom Instruction offers 3 courses delivered by eBay trained Education Specialists:

• Selling Basics for the new seller
  
• Building your Business on eBay for the more experienced seller
  
• eBay Stores
  

Classes are offered in person in your own neighborhood.

Find a class now!

Or, schedule a business consultation with a certified instructor.

Here's what's covered:

Selling Basics
With the Basics of Selling on eBay, you'll learn how to: 
•Become an eBay seller
•Do research and create listings
•Improve your listings with better descriptions and photography
•Set pricing
•Open and use a PayPal account
•Monitor your listings
•Complete transactions

Find classes in your neighborhood

Building your Business on eBay
With Building your Business on eBay, you'll learn how to:
•Start and/or grow an eBay-based business
•Choose the right listing format
•Create compelling listings
•Use eBay listing tools
•Market your business on eBay
•Manage your listings
•Source, pack and ship inventory

Find classes in your neighborhood

eBay Stores
eBay Stores will teach you:
•The benefits of opening an eBay Store
•How to build your eBay Store
•Optimizing your eBay Store for search
•How to market your eBay Store effectively
•To understand your business using eBay Stores traffic reporting

Find classes in your neighborhood

Has your website been hacked? Learn how to "dig" yourself out and have a new web presence. 

Content in the 'Help for Hacked Sites' video below - "how and why sites are hacked" and a "review of your options for recovery".

Yes, there is change in the air here at Austin Media Slingers...we are evolving in to a one-stop-shop for musicians from around the globe, but mostly at first at least, in Texas. And while our website is still in trasition mode, just like we are, the change should be complete in just a few weeks from now.