LinkedIn is piloting a Skills section so job seekers can find out which aspects of their skill set are in demand, and which companies and states have job openings for those skills. This is a useful feature for small businesses and the self-employed, to keep your skills and keywords up to date. Check out the viability of your skill set in the current climate, and add skills to your LinkedIn profile:

• Go to your LinkedIn page
• On the nav bar at the top, mouse over the MORE button (this section has other useful links)
• Click on Skills (beta). Enter your skill (E.G. accounting) and you will see different kinds of accounting listed.

• On the left is a list of Related Skills you can explore later. On the right is a chart with Relative Growth, Size and Age. Checking Relative Growth for different kinds of accounting will show which areas are growing/shrinking; the idea is to focus on those that are growing (duh), and to add related keywords to the skill set on your resume.

• You will also notice an Add Skill button: this will link the skill to your profile, and list you as an expert whenever that skill is searched upon by others. Pretty cool.

A bit boggled by all the “Must-do” activities needed to build and maintain your online presence?
Contact us at FastNet Media to schedule a phone consultation to help clarify your goals and move your business forward.

Susan P. Joyce, CEO of the venerable online job search site, Job-Hunt.org, has helped thousands of job seekers in their quest for new employment.

With a huge following on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and now Google +, Susan is the guru of job search, the web’s most reliable source of job search advice, from resume security to job-search strategies for veterans. Collaborating with such notables as Richard Bolles of ‘What Color is Your Parachute?’ fame, to researchers at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Susan’s deep knowledge of the world of online job search, employment strategies, and recruiting is unmatched.

Since many of the strategies and advice featured in Job-Hunt.org have relevance for small businesses and the self-employed, we’ll periodically pass along ideas from the site that may help you or job seekers you know. Here’s an example:


Indeed.com has a new Indeed Resume service that Susan thinks is great for job seekers. Job seekers and employers both benefit from this free service that can help those with jobs to fill find those with the right skills. It might be worth it to post your resume and get a URL from them. Read more at Job-Hunt.org:

http://www.job-hunt.org/job-search-news/2011/09/19/apply-with-indeed/

Travel Research Online, an excellent news and information site for the travel industry, recently completed a series of articles by a travel consultant who chronicled her transition from a general-purpose agent into a wedding & honeymoon specialist.

Her insights into the positive and negative aspects of changing her business marketing plan are relevant to anyone who is seeking to re-focus their efforts, hone a marketing message and concentrate on a solidly-defined niche. Read the last article in the series here.

Everyone seems to be talking about Facebook: its ability to generate business leads, build online relationships and engage potential clients. But how?

It’s all about starting where you are, doing what you normally do in the course of your business day, and learning to incorporate Facebook and other social media platforms into your daily sales/marketing activities.

True, Facebook is just another sales channel, but its emphasis on building a base of ‘friends’ requires a subtly different approach from the usual sales ‘push’. Facebook lends itself to a slower, more deliberate sequence of actions that convey your business persona and present a clear picture of the human side of your business.

After establishing your personal profile and business page on Facebook, try this sequence of actions to strengthen your business presence in this popular and growing networking space:

• Find and join Facebook groups that may have potential clients as members
• Monitor group activity over a few weeks to get a feel for the topics being discussed and the general tenor of the discourse
• Add some comments to the discussion threads started by others, first contributing some insights or opinions, later sharing links/photos/videos pertinent to the discussion
• Post your own questions, announcements and/or special deals that your company is offering, that might interest the group’s members; remember – don’t start selling right away!

Here’s a good resource on Facebook marketing:
Facebook Marketing Strategies to build Super Fans ,from Social Media Examiner.

Debbie Windoloski of Hadley, Massachusetts, is a Master Horticulturist, Garden Designer and Coach, whose entire property, Gardenscapes, is registered as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat™ with the National Wildlife Federation. Debbie’s career has blossomed in the last few years, thanks to careful development of her business niche, and consistent leveraging of marketing skills she developed in previous jobs.




In addition to regularly posting to her blog, “This Month in the Garden”, Debbie has staked out territory on Google Maps, LinkedIn, and in garden design directories.

Debbie lectures to garden clubs, garden centers and other audiences, as well as volunteering for community projects and hosting events for garden lovers. Gardenscapes’ annual Spring Garden Tour and Tea is a much-anticipated event in the Pioneer Valley area of western Massachusetts. Walking through the Gardenscapes property, Debbie’s current customers and prospective clients can experience her design sensibility first-hand, and be inspired by her transformation of a suburban backyard into serene and beautiful garden spaces.

Coupled with priceless word-of-mouth recommendations from happy clients, these activities have helped build Gardenscapes into a well-known brand in the Zone 5 gardening world, and have established Debbie as an expert in her ‘field’ of knowledge. Keep it going, Deb!

Gardenscapes annual Spring Garden Tour and Tea: Saturday, May 21, 2011.

Congratulations, Ellen!

Ellen Paderson (Smiles and Miles Travel and Bar/Bat Mitzvah Vacations) has been featured in several travel publications, as well as appearing as a guest columnist for Mitzvah Market.  See her Media Page for more information!