We'd crossed paths quite a bit over the last few years, but hadn't had much opportunity to talk. So, I was really looking forward to sitting down to chat in person (drink some wine… eat some sushi…  sing karaoke… ) and we did all that and more – and there are videos to prove it.

Shannon is a very strong personality, and I immediately discovered that there's a huge heart under that. I tried to come up with a good way to describe her but was struggling, so I asked my friend Tracy for help.

We decided that Shannon is “smart as heck and snarky-sweet with a twist of sass (after all she IS a red-head)“.  We hit it off immediately.

ok, enough mooshy stuff. Here's Shannon's bio – so you understand WHY I had her on the show beyond “I like her”:

Shannon Cherry, is the founder of Be Heard Solutions. As a former TV anchor and journalist, and one of the top media experts and publicists in the world (she's gotten several entrepreneurs and small business owners on Oprah!) is the Power Publicist. She helps business owners and entrepreneurs to attract more customers through publicity and marketing. Shannon publishes the popular and highly-recommended ezine, Be Heard!, delivered to more than 8000 subscribers each month. Get your free publicity power package (to learn how you can take advantage of free exposure through TV, radio, podcasts, and print) by signing up for Be Heard! at BeHeardSolutions.com.

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 & Resources Mentioned in this Call:

• TweetLater
  
• Database of Media Contacts
• Beth Schneider's Operating Systems course.

Free “Must Have” Tools & Resources Mentioned in this Call:

• Twitter: Shannon Cherry on Twitter | Nicole Dean on Twitter
• Google Analytics
• Free Press Release Sites to Submit to.

People who have Influenced Shannon

• Me. – Yay!
• Adam Urbanski.
• Felicia Slattery.
• Melanie Benson Strick – Overall business strategies.
• Beth Schneider – Systems.

Takeaway Points from Shannon

• Know your Target Market
• Systems save time and help you to make more progress.
• Do it Wrong, but Do it Strong!

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

Comment and Win This List Building Course ($197 Value)
Donated by Shannon!

After listening to the show, comment below and you'll be entered to win this essential business course. Here are some ideas.

– Tell us something you learned from the show.
– Tell us something you're changing after listening.
– Tell us about a time when you fell flat on your face and had to get back up.
– Share a press/media accomplishment.
– Tell us a time you took a risk and it paid off.
– Share a media/press-related tip.

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

PS. Click to learn  How to Record a Podcast via Telephone like I do.

Kelly asked…. “How important do you think a Positive Attitude is to being successful in business? And how have you cultivated a positive outlook for yourself? ”

First things, first, your TV list resembles mine a lot. Wish we lived closer. We could hang out and have TV night.

As for your question, whoa, baby! I guess you're getting me back for sending you all those hard questions.

Let's see. A positive attitude is not only essential in business, but it's a life saver. As we both know, every single person who starts a business will hit major hurdles that feel like mountains. We ALL have major setbacks. Whether it's someone stealing your content, credit card charge backs and dealing with fraud, your hard drive crashing, refund requests, crabby customers, hosting fiascos, getting websites hacked, or having your website disappear from google during your busiest season.

My God, reading that list makes me want to crawl back into bed! I swear, it is, at times, easy to want to give up and just get a job. (I've threatened it many times over the last six years I've been working online, myself.)

For that reason, I think every work at home mom needs to work on being positive on a daily basis (me included). I'm not preaching from a pulpit. I'm sitting in the pews here.

The ways I've cultivated a positive attitude are to remind myself on a daily basis that I am not the only one who is suffering from these afflictions, to stay connected with my other wahm friends, and to count my blessings. It sounds hokey, but it's what is working for me. Sometimes I just need a good cry, though. (Don't we all?)

1. Reminding myself that it's not just me.
This one is huge for me. If I though that I was the ONLY person having these issues, it would make it much harder for me to keep my chin up. But, I know it's just all part of a growing business and that each issue must be dealt with.

2. Connecting with Other WAHMs.
This is where MomMasterminds was a lifesaver for me, Kelly. A complete and total lifesaver.

3. Counting my Blessings.
This is just a simple thing that I feel more people need to take time to do on a daily basis. If I didn't make an effort to sit and think about what is going GOOD in my life every day, it gets way too easy to count all the little issues that spring up that basically stink. So, this does give me the perspective that I need to realize that, although the bad things stand out more, they are nowhere near as plentiful as the good things in my day.

How about you, Kelly? I'll toss this question back atcha with a little add on. What do you do to stay positive? I know your faith is a huge part of your life, and you talked about that a bit in one other question. So, tell me how that helps you in your business.

Looking forward to chatting soon.

Nicole

(Keep an eye on Kelly’s blog for her reply.)

Kelly asked…. “What are your thoughts on sugar and caffeine? Good, bad or you don’t care?

Hey girlfriend. Sorry it took so long to reply. I've had a heck of a sore throat this week. I think it's nothing but allergies, but it's making me just curl up on the couch watching HGTV much this week.

This “gimme” question is actually a tough one for me. On a recent blood test, my doctor thought I might be pre-diabetic. This would make perfect sense since every time I do the South Beach Diet, I drop 10 lbs in a week, so a low-glycemic diet might actually be what my body needs.

I'm straying from your question a bit, because, this also fits with that food plan I promised to tell you about. This would be a really cool idea for a Work at Home Mom to start if she had access to a restaurant kitchen.

I'm getting my meals delivered from a company called Fitness Solutions Now. The food is made locally and I pick it up every Saturday. I get 20 meals per week, which is 5 days worth of food. I eat every 3 hours and it's working quite well. I'm still exercising every morning, too, but I hadn't been losing at all doing just that even though I eat a healthy diet — soo… this is working much better. Plus, while Joe coaches football, I am pretty close to a single mom, so having my food ready in the fridge makes my crazy week a little more manageable.

My gym said that your weight is decided 20% by exercise and 80% by diet, so I though that was interesting. The funny thing is that I'm eating a LOT more than I used to on this meal plan, and I've lost 5% body fat in under a month. So, obviously it's helping my metabolism to speed up and burn my food more efficiently.

So, to make a short story long… I do try to avoid sugar as much as possible, including fruit. If I do crave sugar or fruit, I make sure to get it in before 10 am so it's not spiking my blood sugar while I'm inactive at night or in bed. (Of course, my wine has sugar, but I'm not giving it up!)

Caffeine doesn't bother me much, although our mutual friend, Diana, has shared some interesting information about it that has made me try to limit my caffeine intake, as well.

The thing that I'm still confused about is the talk about how artificial sweeteners are bad for you, too. Diana has an interesting post about that, too. I'm undecided in that, other than the fact that I won't give it to my kids, so, maybe I shouldn't be drinking it myself. (Otherwise, I feel like a hypocrite when they ask and I say “No, it's bad for you” and I keep drinking it.)

So, that's my answer, girlfriend.

I know I've been pretty tough on you with my questions, so here's an easy one for you…

What's your favorite TV show these days? And, what do you do for fun?

Talk soon, my friend.

N

(Keep an eye on Kelly’s blog for her reply.)

I could explain it, but I'll let the creator of the show tell you about it…

When Survivor hit the airwaves in 2000, reality television was born.

When American Idol started in 2002, wanna-be singers and critics immediately took to the guilty pleasure of watching each week.

And when The Apprentice debuted in 2004, ratings soared and the world tuned in to see Trump say “You're Fired”.

Now, there is a new reality show that is about the become the newest hit and sensation.

But this show is different than the rest for several reasons…

… It's not on a major network
… It is all about Internet marketing
… And it is the WORLD'S FIRST competitive Internet reality show!

It's called…

–> “The Next Internet Millionaire” < —

Honestly, you have GOT to go see this video and the website right away. The show premiers on August 15th. I'm looking forward to it and I think you are going to enjoy it as well.

Click this link now and you'll see what I mean!

Enjoy the show… It's going to be great!

Warmly,
Nicole

PS. A quick reminder about the Direct Sellers Blast I told you about here's the scoop.

Webmomz has a cool opportunity to get you publicity for your local business, read for details below.

As some of you may know, Doing Business in Your Bathrobe Day is coming on February 12th, 2007 – a day to celebrate the freedom of owning your own home business! This holiday was established to recognize the hard work and dedication it takes to be an entrepreneur.

It's an internationally national holiday to call attention to the millions of home business owners who have waved goodbye to the corporate rat race and settled into a better quality of life. We felt it was high time to recognize the efforts and dreams of entrepreneurs.

And I'm excited to share that already one mom has gotten a TV story for her business from it. Tracy Ebert, from Virginia, already sent out the local press release and got calls from one TV station, a print publication, one online resource! Way to go Tracy!

So don't miss this chance to get free publicity for your business. Get your local press release for Doing Business in Your Bathrobe here to get publicity for YOUR business http://www.webmomz.com/bizinbathrobe-local.shtml

Enter to Win Tons of Great Prizes in the Doing Business in Your Bathrobe Drawing
http://www.webmomz.com/bizinbathrobe2007.shtml

And finally, don't forget to send us a picture of you working in your bathrobe and we'll post it on Webmomz! Send that to kristie@webmomz.com Put “Bathrobe picture” in the subject.

This contest is sponsored by Webmomz.com and International Bathrobes.

This month is a really cool one, if I do say so myself.

Click Here to Discover How to Become a Movie Extra

Although I'm one who prefers to hide from the camera, I do appreciate those who are braver than I am! There's even a section in this guide about getting your kids on camera. Now, that could be fun!

If you swing by the site, you can get a free chapter of the book just to learn more.

What is this business?
Become a Background Actor a.k.a Movie Extra and work on film, TV and commercials. If you think about it, the stars of the movie would look pretty silly having a conversation in a diner if no one else was there. The background actors – extras – are there to make movie and TV scenes look realistic.

Anyone can be a movie extra. You don't need any experience, you don't need to have taken acting classes and you don't need to be a particular age. All that's needed is the right look and the ability to take directions and some patience. Having the right look doesn't mean you have to be glamorous – there is just as much work for regular or unusual looking people.

Click here to learn more about Making Money as a Movie or TV Extra.

Enjoy!

Nicole