Why? Let me count the ways…

1. She is first and foremost, becoming one of my dearest friends, just because she's fun to be around. She makes me laugh.

2. Secondly, she is one of the people on this planet who just makes the world a better place on a regular basis through her local Rotary club.

3. She GRABS life by the cojones (sorry guys) and just lives her life with gusto. As I write this, she's in Finland. Tomorrow, she'll probably be riding a camel or something. She just goes and goes.

4. She's an animal lover and she donated money to an animal shelter in my Eddy-puppy's name after he passed.

5. She sent books to my kids as a gift last summer.

6. She's a survivor. I'm not even talking about the fact that she's had cancer several times and beat it – but that she has faced many many obstacles in her life that appear to be insurmountable. But, Connie just powers on. (Thank God!)

7. Having been a homeless kid, she donates backpacks and supplies to help kids who do not have a home.

8. She made a donation to support me when I decided to host an orphan, and then has continued to support me emotionally through my entire adoption process as it's unfolding.

9. And, she's just about the most thoughtful, genuine person I've ever met.

Shall I go on?

Actually if I had only two words to describe Connie, they would be LIVES and GIVES. (Connie – I hope you like that!)

And.. that's BEFORE I even start talking about how smart she is and how much I respect her as a businesswoman.

She also happens to be a darned smart marketer. Plus, on a much more selfish side of things… she's also ALWAYS one of my top affiliates, promoting my stuff consistently.

That's me on the left, our friend, Paul Taubman in the middle,
and Connie on the right.

So what's my point? When Connie sends me an email, I open it.

And, when Connie asks me for something, I do it.

Connie says “Hey Nik, will you write a Forward to my book?” I say “Of course!”

And, when Connie says “Hey Nik, will you be on my podcast?” I say “Most definitely!”

Well, we recorded that podcast awhile ago, and she published that podcast a few weeks ago, while I was still traveling through Europe. I promised her that I'd share it here, as well, so that you all wouldn't miss it.

So… here it is:

If you like what you hear, be sure to check out the resource at the end of this blog post. You can never go wrong learning from Connie.

Recommended Resource:

You can eavesdrop in while Connie coaches her friend to $10,000 per month. And, the best part? You don’t have to pay the big bucks for private coaching.

Listen in while someone else makes the mistakes – so you don’t have to.

Check that out here: Listen in on Connie’s Private Coaching Here

Resource Mentioned in this Call:

Easy PLR – Where you can get awesome content for a great price!

Want More Podcasts like this One?

I hope you enjoy this podcast. Remember, you can access all of my previous podcasts on iTunes:

If you want to hear Connie's story – check out this podcast where I interviewed her. Connie Green Spills the Beans.

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

Here's a picture of us together. (I'm the goofy one on the left.) –>

Please give a big warm welcome to Loretta and leave lots of comments and questions so she feels the love. And, if you've got a podcast or if you record teleseminars – hire her. She's good.

Hi, this is Loretta Oliver from Teleseminars Transcribed and I’m here on Nicole’s blog to talk about something we both love…., outsourcing. It’s definitely no secret that I love outsourcing, not only is it what I do in my service based business, I also outsource to other people on the things that are not my strengths. It’s a great way to create balance in your business.

Today in particular we’re going to talk about outsourcing to a transcriptionist to have text transcripts made from your podcast, teleseminar, video, webinar, dictation or other audio files that you might have laying around on your hard drive just taking up space and not being used.

I want to cover two things really quickly, reasons why you want to have transcripts made and some tips on working with a transcriptionist.

First, let’s talk about why you want to have transcripts created in addition to your audio.

After all, audio and video are the new ways of the web right? Well, that’s sort of right. A lot of people are quick to jump on the audio and video bandwagon because it gives you a little SEO boost, it’s faster to record a video than to write an article for a lot of people, etc…

Those are all great reasons to create a video or record an audio, but in my opinion you should have a text version to go with it as well and here a few quick reasons why…

Having a transcript made gives you a new format. You've just repurposed your content with little effort on your part. You've got something new that you can give your audience in the form of a PDF as a short report. This could be free viral content or it could even be a report that you sell for small fee, depending on the content and your goal with it.

What if your customer or visitor can't hear? Technology is a wonderful thing and the internet is widely used by people everywhere today. Unfortunately, a lot of those people are hearing impaired.

If they've landed on your site via a search, that means you have something they're looking for, but if you're only offering audio and video versions they can't hear it and if you’re not offering a text version then they aren't going to get what they came searching for in the first place and they're going to move on away from your site and find a site that meets their needs.

Surrounding area may not allow for easy listening. The internet is portable these days and folks are surfing the web at lightning fast speeds in all sorts of places. Let’s say your video or podcast has the answer to the problem they are querying in Google right now – that’s awesome right? Maybe not so much if you don’t have the text to go with it. What if they are in a crowded subway station with no headphones and they can’t hear over the noise? Or in a quiet office waiting room with no speakers or no headphones?

In the case of info products and online courses, sometimes people just like to have the text format to read and follow along with the audio or video. They can print it out, highlight, and takes notes on it if they want to. They can read along on their screen if they want to. They can watch or listen first and then read later, or refer to the text when they are working on what you just taught them. The addition of the transcript allows them to consume your content in the way that's best for them, and that's always a good thing.

Now let’s talk about getting your transcript created.

This is the easy part for you because you’ve already created the main content, which is the audio or video file, and you just need to send that to a transcriptionist to get the text version created. There are a few things you want to consider for your transcripts and in most cases your transcriptionist is going to guide you through the process painlessly.

First, make sure your transcriptionist accepts the file formats that you have, especially if you’re using video because not all transcriptionists work with video.

Is your audio sound quality good and clear with no static or background noise? Many transcriptionists, myself included, will charge an additional fee for poor quality audio that is difficult to hear the speakers on.

A similar consideration to think about is are all the parties involved speaking clearly and easy to understand. On occasion a mumbling guest or a thick difficult to understand accent may cost you a slightly extra fee as well. Those are most likely the only times you’ll incur extra fees unless you request rush delivery or some special formatting.

Thanks for hanging out with me today here on Nicole's blog and thanks to Nicole for letting me talk shop while she's away. If you have any questions about transcription please do ask, I'll be hanging around to answer some Q&A in the comments section here, or you can email me from my website if you prefer to ask privately.

Kind Regards,

Loretta has more than 7 years of transcription service experience and strives to deliver a quality product to each and every client, no matter the size of the project.

Requests for transcription are accepted at Teleseminars Transcribed for any length from 5 minutes of personal dictation to an ongoing series of hour long teleseminars.

Note from Nicole: And she's awesome!

What is the One Quality you Must Have to Succeed in Online Business?

I'll paste my response below, but keep reading as I have a free gift at the end.

Here's my answer…

The success mindset is a fascinating topic, isn't it? It never ceases to amaze me to see two business owners who are equally capable and hard-working, yet one will succeed (seemingly effortlessly) while the other continues to struggle to make ends meet. If I could bottle whatever it is that successful entrepreneurs have, I'd be very wealthy indeed.

To answer your question, the top quality, I feel, is resilience. Business is wonderful, but it can be a roller coaster. I regularly see people who internalize all setbacks as their own doing (whether right or wrong), and never acknowledge their achievements when they succeed. Can you imagine doing that as a parent? Criticizing yourself for every mistake your child makes, and then never taking credit or patting yourself on the back when they soar? Ouch. That would make parenting very difficult. But, yet, we do that in our own businesses. I know that I've struggled with it, myself.

I feel that the main obstacle that makes it hard to be resilient is that we tend to work in a bubble and don't want to share our setbacks with others. We may be embarrassed by them or feel they show weakness. Obviously that makes being resilient difficult because when bad things happen in business, we think that it's only happening to us. Yet, when we open the dialog with other business owners, we often find that bumps in the road are just part of the path we're on. In fact, many of the most successful people that I've talked with have had colossal setbacks and have recovered from bankruptcy, depression, and worse.

So, my advice is to grip on to the dashboard and ride the bumps out, reminding yourself that everyone hits them — and be assured that it's smoother road ahead.

A few days after I sent in my reply, Kathleen sent me a report with the answers that she compiled from several of her friends. This report is normally part of a paid course, but she gave me permission to share it.

Here you go. Enjoy. No optin or anything. Just some good food for thought:

Click to Read “Mindset Report”

(Ignore page 2 where it says I stole the report illegally. lol. I really didn't.)

Warmly,
Nicole

This week, I have Raven Blair-Davis, with me.

The audio recording of our interview is at the end of this blog post. Just look for the “play” button and listen. It’s free!

Here's more about Raven Blair-Davis so you can see why I think she's cool:

Raven Blair Davis – is the Founder, and host of the popular Women Power Talk Radio Network!

Raven aka Talk Show Maven, is all about empowering others in living their true passion, and going for their greatness by unleashing that unstoppable power within them. Each week on her radio shows/podcast she bring to her audience inspiring messages, strategies and formulas for success from speakers, coaches authors, visionaries and great life and business leaders to assist her listeners in truly turning their dreams into reality. Raven Blair Davis has over 25 years of communications skills, tele-sales/telemarketing, customer service and management.

She host two Internet radio shows and podcast as well as air live on 1320 WARL AM radio an is the author of Kitchen Table Radio – Home Study Course, How To Produce, Post and Profit from Your Own Radio Show.”

For two years in a row Raven's popular Women Power Talk Radio network was named one of Anita Campbell's Business's Trends, Top 100 Business podcast.  Also in 2008 Raven was named Universal 7 Radio network- Talk Show Host of the year for her Careers From The Kitchen Table business show that airing weekly on 1320 WARL AM. This show also airs on 1230 KLAV in Las Vegas.

Some of the previous guest Raven has had the pleasure of interviewing powerful business owners, recording artists and celebrities, like: Montel Williams Grammy award winning TV talk show host, Les Brown “The Motivator” – International speaker, Victoria Rowell – Actress (Formerly on Young & The Restless) as well as Acclaimed Actress and one of the first female sports commentators Jayne Kennedy, Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield- Creators Of The famous Chicken Soup From The Soul books and phenomenon- Wally Amos founder and creator of Famous Amos Cookies – and many, many others.

[display_podcast]

“Must Have” Online Business Tools Recommended by Raven:

• Google.com
• FreeConferenceCalls.com
• Forums
• Meetups
• Audio Acrobat for Recording Audios
• WhoRepresents.com

Takeaway Success Points from this Interview

• Stop Giving so much!
• Don't be a quitter.
• Ask to Get.
• Speak from the heart.
• Create a win-win. Barter for what you need.

Be sure to post your comments below. I'd love to hear what you learned and will apply from this interview.

PS. If you can make a phone call, you can have a podcast like mine: Click to learn  How to Record a Podcast like I do.

Here's a sneak peek:

You can record in several different ways. If you opt to use a telephone, these are the options that you'd be presented with:

I pretty much always use option #3 as I record coaching calls and interviews. The service provides the mp3 version of the audio that I can email or post in on my blog (and submit to iTunes).

If you need an easy way to record interviews, this may be the right option for you. If you'd like to check it out, you can try it free here to see if you like it: Easy Phone Recording Software. Yes, of course, that's my affiliate link.

Have a fantastic day!
Nicole Dean

This week, I have Ross Goldberg with me. I met Ross and his beautiful wife at Stomper Live in Atlanta this past August. He is a Stomper faculty member for them and he's a hard-working,  driven, and very smart marketer.

Ross Goldberg's bio is fascinating. It's filled with stuff like this:

I’ve actually had 2 brushes with death. I nearly died in 2003, as well as my coma in 2005…

The hit from the pistol missed my temple by an inch. $30,000 worth of neurosurgery later, I was as good as new!

Seriously. Like I can make this stuff up?!

The interview rocked, of course, as always. And, be sure to look below for free gifts from Ross and the latest prize you can win simply by listening and commenting about the interview.

The audio recording of our interview is at the end of this blog post. Just look for the “play” button and listen. It’s free!

Check out this fantastic free content from Ross after you listen to the show, of course. Free Gifts from Ross.

“Must Have” Tools Recommended by Ross:

• Ross's Semi-Automatic Submitter – It submits articles, press releases and more.
• Market Samari.
• Article Marketing Automation.
• Easy Note.
• Google Calendar.
• Mini Task.
• Gimp.
• Camtasia.
• Tweet Deck.
• and more.

Takeaway Points

• Know Who to Listen To.
• Ask yourself “Now What?” all the time.
• Be careful who you partner with.
• You've got to be hungry to get what you want.

Don't forget! One lucky listener will win a Prize.
This Week you can Win Ross's Traffic Manifesto! (APPLAUSE, please)

As always, one lucky listener will be chosen to win a prize. All you have to do is listen to the show and leave a comment about what you learned from the show — and you'll be entered to win.

You can win Ross's Traffic Manifesto. Here's a short description:

Never before has a product revealed 79 completely different methods of generating traffic to your website. All of the others focus on one single method. The problem with that is that your benefits will be limited to the tactic you use. Using numerous tactics will grab your customers from all corners of the internet and improve your sales, results, and of course your traffic.

One lucky listener will win all 137 pages of traffic instruction. But, you've got to comment about one thing you took from this interview in order to win!

PS. If you can make a phone call, you can have a podcast like mine: Click to learn  How to Record a Podcast like I do.

This past week, I've felt like God or the “universe” has been trying to tell me something.

Do you remember the movie “The Man with Two Brains“? In the movie, Steve Martin's character recently lost his beloved wife, and is considering marrying again. He stands in front of a large painting of his wife and says “Just give me a sign, if I shouldn't be with her… any sign…” The pictures start spinning, you hear screaming “NOOOOOO” and the house shakes. Remember that?

Well, I think my sign may be just as obvious, because that's what the past week has been like for me. Let me know what you think —

First on Tuesday, I had my podcast with Scott Tousignant who is the Fat Loss Quickie Coach. Listen to our chat here: Fat Loss Quickie Success Cast. He helps busy entrepreneurs like me and you to do quick 10 minute workouts that enable us to lose fat, feel better, and also be more productive — and get more done!

Now, that sounded pretty good to me. He also talked with me during the podcast about doing challenges and inviting your readers to participate along with you. Hmm… you see where this is going? (Sign #1: The 10 Minute Quickie Workout Coach lands in my space and we become friends.)

Then, on Wednesday, I was guest blogging at Jimmy D. Brown's blog doing a series entitled “Lessons Learned working with a Guru” and I inspired myself. ha! That sounds funny, but basically I was talking about how much weight I've gained and how I have made excuses for not finding the time to exercise, but how I should be able to find 10 stinking minutes a day for crying out loud! (Sign #2: My inner self was screaming out for help!)

Then, Friday, my mom called me and asked me to come and get her because she didn't feel well. Scared the poop out of me that she might not be healthy and then I got mad at her for not finding the time to exercise. (Sign #3: Pot, I'd like you to meet kettle.)

Anyway, what does this have to do with me, and more importantly you?

Here's the scoop. I am going to spend the next month going through Scott's Fat Loss Quickie Home Office Program. And, you can follow along either by watching and cheering me on or by doing the challenge with me.

Either way, you are invited to read my journey and see what happens.

Oh yeah, one more thing. You guys all know how much I love my red wine at night, right? Well, I'm going to give it up until this challenge is over. There's no point in downing lots of sugar right before bed if I'm going to give Scott's challenge a real effort. (Plus, it's not fair to him to be a case study sabotager, either.) I made it through my first night with no wine last night and slept just fine so there's no excuse on my part why I can't give it up for a month or more.

So, that's the scoop.

If you'd like to join me in the challenge, and I hope you will, just sign up for the $20 program (one-time charge) below. If you are unhappy with the way you look and feel, feeling fatigued, and not getting a whole lot done during the day, I hope you'll consider joining me. Then, be sure to sign up for my email updates (see the right nav to sign up) and be sure to post your comments every day.

Videos, audios, and cross-blog posts are welcome, as well.

Let's find 10 minutes every day to get healthier so we can enjoy the LIFESTYLE that we're working towards.

((hugs)) to all.
Nicole

PS. I'd love to give away prizes to those who stick it out with me and really get into the contest. Any ideas for what you'd like to win?

Note: You can follow all posts by keeping an eye on the Computer Butt category to the right.

First, before I get into who I'm interviewing and why, let me just tell you about my wacky intro for the Success Cast. I tried to start all nice and sweet, but then I got to this point:

“You're listening to my … uh… it's not weekly anymore podcast, it's kind of whenever the heck I want to record it… what do I say, oh no!…PANIC! PANIC! .. BURST INTO LAUGHTER!”

And, since I promised that I wouldn't edit these interviews — you get to hear the whole debacle.

My Virtual Assistant listened to the interview and sweetly said “Nik, were you drinking?!”

Yeah, it's that goobery. And, NO! I wasn't. Geesh. It was like 9 in the morning and I was recording an interview with a highly esteemed friend.

But, I sound like I was. I tell you. I get on these calls and just forget that we're recording sometimes. Anyway, I wanted to warn you in advance, that, once again, the call is … well, mostly-sane.  AND, I wanted to remind you that YOU don't have to be perfect either. I'm sure not!

Back to the call. Paul really shares a lot about himself, and his ups and downs, how he makes his money, as well as how he got out of “prison”. (No, he wasn't a criminal.)

Here's more about Paul so you can see why I think he's cool:

Paul Cooley has been Online since 2002 and has loved every minute of it, even the hard times. Paul and his wife currently own a coffee shop and Paul operates his Internet Marketing blog and Christian Entrepreneurship Training site.

Paul is also author of the “Home Entrepeneur’s Guide” and has many more books coming soon to help Entrepreneurs.

The audio recording of our interview is at the end of this blog post. Just look for the “play” button and listen. It’s free!

Paid “Must Have” Tools Recommended by Paul:

• Web Hosting
• Aweber
• Flip Cam

Free “Must Have” Tools Recommended by Paul:

• Social Media
• Skype
• Google Keywords
• Clickbank
• KWBrowse

Paul's Mentors

• Lynn Terry
• Jimmy D. Brown –  Paul especially enjoyed: Membernaire (I agree!)
• Mike Dillard

Takeaway Points

• Paul Rocks!
• Don't Give Up.

Two lucky winners will get access to a Workshop Paul Held with 7 Experts
(I'm one of them!) Value $27

After listening to the show, comment below and you'll be entered to win.

One winner will be chosen from all “non-spam” comments by using Random.org.

The BEST comment will also receive a separate surprise prize.

PS. This audio was recorded with this tool: Easy Telephone Recording.

Jimmy D. Brown is one step closer to being on Twitter: @thejimmydbrown – I set up an account for him. Follow for updates. #

Thank you @blm03 for posting a comment on my podcast. http://bit.ly/TwCzi I was wondering if I was stinky since I had no new comments! #

I <3 (is that a heart?) @kellymccausey! She made me an Ever page – http://coolest.onlinebusinesscoach.ever.com Isn't she the best?! (Just promise you won't watch the video) #

#followfriday Please follow @thejimmydbrown I set up his account & want to show him that this “Twitter thing” is worth it. #

just had THE best time with @daniellemmiller on my podcast.. how much do i love her?? #

UG. MiaBella's Candle of the Month is floral again. Are they TRYING to kill me with migraines? Anyone know someone with a stinky house? #

My kids crack me up! Son (12) “I know what we're going to do today.” Daughter (7) “Me, too. Eat, sleep & poop.” Where do they get it? #

Want cool people to follow? Here are over 6000 to start with: http://bit.ly/17Urw4
#

Powered by Twitter Tools.

Let me tell you a little about my friend. Actually, I'll share her bio with you for starters so you can see why she's on the Success-Cast.

Vera Raposo has been an entrepreneur since age 22, literally negotiating a lease for her first retail store in 1997, which then also began her online business with eBay.

By Summer of 2000, her stores grew to 5 retail locations in Vancouver, British Columbia. By the age of 29 she re-evaluated her life, and literally sold & closed all store locations.

Since January of 2003 Vera has developed marketing plans for her own online business and has landed inside books and magazines for her hobby of scrapbooking.

“I’ve never ever believed in the word can’t. I have always had big dreams for myself and my family which has caused me to strive for excellence in everything.”

Vera went on to consult with local retail business owners about adding online business to their offline business plans.

Today I also host an enthusiasts podcast called Scrappers Talk Radio. All proceeds from my podcast are donated to Mercy Ministries.

I am living out an entrepreneurs dream having successfully turned business into a venture that’s completely online.

Also, please put Vera's daughter on your family's or church's prayer list – her name is spelled Tori Raposo. Thank you!

Vera's Websites:

• SmallBusinessBranding.com
• GetContentResults.com

Resources & People Mentioned in this Call:

• MomsMastermind.com – a Networking group where I met many of my current business friends.
• Aweber.com – My autoresponder.
• Jimmy D. Brown – My mentor and friend.
• Alice Seba | Kelly McCausey | Lynn Terry | Lynette Chandler – Some of Vera's mentors.
• BaseCamp – This tool keeps both me AND Vera organized.

NOTE: Remember how I said that “poop happens” and you just gotta laugh? Well, in the middle of this interview, Vera's phone cuts out and she has to RUN and get another one. Did I cut it out and edit it to sound pretty? NOPE. Because this show is about being REAL. And, in real life, you just keep on truckin'.

Take a listen and leave me a comment below about your thoughts and/or who you'd like to hear as a guest in a future episode.

PS. If you can make a phone call, you can have a radio show like mine: Click to learn  How to Record Telephone Interviews like I do.