The Blogging For Bucks Teleseminar will be held Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 9 pm Eastern time and will cover:

- How to choose a profitable blog topic.
- The basics of setting up a blog.
- Creating content that people want to read.
- How money is made.
- Getting people to visit your blog.

The teleseminar is free to attend, but you need to register to obtain the call-in details.

I’ll be doing a three-hour seminar on Saturday January 28, 2012 at Piedmont Virginia Community College on how to become a Virtual Assistant.

In the course you’ll learn:

• What a VA does
• How to get started
• How to identify the skills you have and the services you can offer
• Determine who needs those services and how to get them to hire you

The course includes worksheets and handouts to help you develop a business plan plus how to set your fees and get paid.

To learn more or to register, visit Piedmont Virginia Community College online or call 434.977.3900

In a world of digital music and movies, it is a no-brainer that digital books would follow. A recent article at Paid Content reports that e-books are outselling print versions on the U.S. bestsellers list. In a tough economy, this makes sense. E-books are less expensive to produce and therefore less expensive to buy. Readers don’t have to find a bookstore that carries the book or order it in the mail. Instead, they can order and read in minutes. Students can bookmark and annotate without writing in the book. Bookshelves full of books can be carried on one, low-weight device.

Still, many resist e-books, preferring to hold a “real” book instead. I used to be that person and admittedly, making the change to an e-reader has taken time. But like the horse and buggy, video tapes, and CD’s, traditional books are becoming an object of a time gone by.

Here are the events I’m scheduled to appear at so far:

January 12, 2012, 10am – Guest on CWAHM Internet Radio Talking about Telecommuting
January 28, 2012, 9am-Noon – Become a Virtual Assistant – PVCC
Feb. 18, 2012, 9am-Noon – How to Find or Create a Work-At-Home Job – PVCC
February 21, 2012 9pm – Jobs Online Teleseminar – Global Teleclass
March 15, 2012 9am – Easy Internet Marketing for Small Business – PVCC and Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce Business Academy
March 17, 2012, 9am-Noon – Blogging for Bucks PVCC
April 21, 2012 9am-Noon – How to Sell Then Write a Non-Fiction Book – PVCC

To learn more about these and see new events scheduled when they’re arranged visit the Events Page.

My father used to say that my grandmother served black-eyed peas for good luck on New Year’s day. In doing a little research, I found that many foods are connected with good luck or prosperity, while others might hurt your chances. Epicurious has an article on Lucky Food for the New Year which is an interesting read. I have taken some of the lucky foods and created a menu that I hope will bring me great success in 2012.

• Pork Satay (a family favorite from one of the South Beach Diet Cookbooks)
• Avocado and Black-Eyed Pea Salsa (I found this online and it sounded yummy)
• Spicy Collard Green Chips (a recipe I got a few months back from the Clean Eating Magazine)
• Corn Bread (I’ll probably use a mix)

So what will all these foods bring me in the New Year?

Black-Eyed Peas – My grandmother was right in that black-eyed peas are a traditional New Year staple in the south. Apparently the little peas stand for coins. Eating them should bring financial rewards.

Greens – This is another tradition in many parts of the world. Germany eats cabbage, while the south eats collard greens (of course). The greens symbolize folded money to bring economic fortune. Considering the economy, I think everyone should eat some greens today. I’m not a huge fan of greens myself, but the spicy collard green chips are really good.

Pork – Pigs apparently stand for progress because they’re always moving forward. I haven’t studied pigs enough to know, but am willing to give it shot.

Corn Bread – I’ve seen different interpretations of corn bread, one saying it stands for pocket money and another indicating it’s a reminder to be humble. I could use both so I’ve added it to the menu.

Aside from eating well, the tradition stipulates that you leave some food on your plate or on the table until past midnight. I’m not one to usually leave good food on the plate, but if its the difference between a great year and a ho-hum year, I can leave a little behind.

What should you avoid on New Years? According to Epicurious, chicken and lobster both of which represent movement backwards. So we’ll have the homemade chicken soup I made this weekend tomorrow.

Other local authors such as Wendy Custer, Gwendolyne Graham, Don Payne, Curtis Putnam, Beth Sherk, and Jane Zimmermann will be there as well.  So don’t miss it:

When: November 12, 2011, 1 to 3 p.m.
Where: Fluvanna County Library, 214 Commons Blvd. Palmyra, VA 22963

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I’m in the process of having digital versions listed at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Until they are, you can get Kindle, Nook and other e-publishing options of Jobs Online through Smashwords.
Digital Version$4.99! (Kindle, Nook, iPad, etc)
Print Version $9.95 at Amazon.com

Telecommuting grew by 61% between 2005 and 2009 and is expected to grow another 69% by 2016. There are many jobs, people just need to know how to find them and get them. Telecommuting jobs can be found in customer service, nursing, teaching, writing, computers and technology, virtual support, public relations and more. What you won’t find is ‘typing’ or ‘data entry’ jobs. Those are nearly always scams.

Don’t go online and searching “work at home”. Most people get duped by scams because they think they can sign-up for a work-at-home job. Instead, treat your work-at-home job search the same as you would a traditional job search. Employers with work-at-home options want the same thing that traditional employers want; skilled and experience employees who can do the job. And like traditional jobs, you’ll need a resume and to go through a hiring process.

I’m teaching 3-hour course on getting a work-at-home job on September 10, 2011 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon at the Stultz Center for Business and Career Development at Piedmont Virginia Community College.  To sign up or learn more, contact PVCC’s Workforce Services at 434.961.5354