Creative Mind Consulting

Mashable's Social Media Guide for Small Businesses

via mashable.com

If you're looking for a year-end guide to social media, Mashable.com has a great list of links in this post.

Speaking at the St. Croix Valley Business Alliance

I'll be speaking this afternoon at the St. Croix Valley Business Alliance, a new chamber of commerce here along the St. Croix River.

The networking meeting runs from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. and my topic is "Using Incredibly Useful Free Web Tools to Build Your Business."

The event is being hosted by the Ascent Companies, located at 2365 Willis Miller Drive in Hudson, WI.

UPDATE: It was fun meeting everyone and speaking last night. Ascent has a beautiful meeting location - complete with wall mounted fireplace, comfortable chairs, etc. Perfect location for a group of our size. We started the networking in the kitchen (isn't that true everywhere!) and moved on to the presentation. It was also great that we had time for everyone to introduce themselves and their businesses. Looking forward to next month's meeting ~

Giving to Others - the Holiday Edition

In the spirit of the season, I thought I'd list as many ideas as I could think of for helping others this holiday season. There are many families and individuals struggling this year...sometimes reaching out to them with a kind word or thoughtful gesture is the most important thing you could possibly do this year.

And - if times are tough for you and your family, finding little ways to help others can lift some of the gloom and dark feelings. 

I'll add more as I think of them or find inspiration....

Feel free to add more good ideas in the Comments section!

Ways to Help Others

1.  Donate food to a local drive or food shelf

2. Buy a fresh wreath from the local Boy Scouts and give it a friend who's cutting back this year

3. Offer to drive an older neighbor to the doctor's office or Christmas service at church

4. So many ways to help your local schools....

• Call the administration and offer a scholarship to help kids who need help affording to play sports, go on overnight field trips to the state capitol, or choir concerts
• Offer to buy art supplies or band instruments
• Donate vintage clothing to the local college's theater department
• Offer to speak at the high school's career day

5. Band together with 5 other families or individuals, contribute $25 a month and help pay the utilities for a struggling friend or church member

6. Bake a yummy plate of slice 'n bake cookies for a friend who's feeling down or lonely

7. Load up a grocery store gift card with enough funds for a week (2 weeks, a month...) and have a local pastor or religious leader give it to a family who's struggling

8. Buy several bags of pet food and again, contact a religious leader to find out who could benefit

9. Partner up with colleagues and fill a Christmas wish list from a friend who's struggling

10. If your church, religious community or local shopping center offers a "giving tree" or "Angel tree", pick a tag for a teenager. Charity groups have the most trouble filling those gift requests.

11. Invite a friend, or another family to share Christmas dinner

12. Go it alone, or partner with friends, to make a car payment for someone in need

13. Take it a step further and help buy a used car for a family or single parent in need. There are a number of charities who offer such a thing, and it's a huge step for the person for whom lack of affordable transportation is a barrier. 

14. Offer to share rides to sports practices with the parents of your child's teammates

15. Purchase a membership in a local professional association for a colleague who wants to join (or renew), but can't afford the fees. Touch base with the chapter president or executive director to find out if there's a need.

16. Offer to trade services with friends. Trade professional services (accounting vs.computer help) or personal ones (change the car's air filter vs. house cleaning).

17. Buy a resume review for a friend, or offer to review it yourself if you have an eye for that sort of thing.

18. Help a colleague keep their professional edge - buy them a yearly subscription to a professional magazine or journal. 

19. Do people clamor for your famous holiday mint brownies, turkey spice rub or chocolate-dipped pretzels? Let your kitchen do the talking when it comes to holiday gifts. Package homemade creations with fun papers, ribbons or tags for a personal gift without spending lots of cash. Share the love with less fortunate friends, church members or colleagues. 

20. Offer to shovel the walk/snowblow the driveway of someone who's sick or older. Or - just get there first with snow blower for your neighbors and be their Secret Santa. 

There's 20 to get you started!