New way to find images for your website

Rainbows and open licenses make me happy.  Photo Credit:  Flickr user: Bootbearwdc

Rainbows and open licenses make me happy. Photo Credit: Flickr user: Bootbearwdc

Great news!  Google Image search now includes a filter for searching images licensed for re-use!  Just go to Google Images and search by keyword.  Then under search tools choose the appropriate license under “usage rights”

For example, here’s a search for images of rainbows licensed for re-use with modification.

Not sure which license you need?  The Creative Commons website explains how you can (and can’t) use work based on its license.  Or, leave a comment below about how you want to use images, and I’ll help you figure out which license is right for you.

The Not-so Lonely Life of the Solopreneur

In honor of the re-opening of the LHF Greenhouse, I’m re-sharing this post from last January about the importance of community–even when you work alone.  Enjoy!

my office assistant is cute but not helpful

Like many people who run a home-based business, I do most of my work alone in my office save for an office assistant whose main contribution is to sit on the Caps Lock key.  As a person who thrives on the company of others–and who needs the input and perspective only other people can provide to do my best work– one might assume this arrangement is a recipe for disaster.

Actually, it would be, save for one very important technological advancement:  the Internet. Continue reading

Want to Try Something New?

As some of you know, I dumped my monthly newsletter in June to try a new experiment.  So far, it’s working out pretty well so I’m sharing it with you here.  If it sounds like fun, I’d love to have you subscribe.  If it sounds like something you could modify for your own work, feel free to “steal” the idea and run with it! 

I’ve noticed a recent trend in the way I read my e-mail: I rarely make it to the end of long messages.

Maybe my attention span is starting to go, or maybe it’s because I read so much of my e-mail on my phone, but whatever the reason, after about 300 words, I close the message telling myself I’ll come back to it “later.”

Except, later usually means never.

It occurred to me that if I feel that way about e-mail you might be noticing that same problem with say, e-mail newsletters with “monthly on-line communications advice.”

To that end, I’ve decided to try something new. Instead of sending one long article each month, I’d like to send you a short “prompt” each week.

One week’s e-mail might include a short challenge designed to help you improve your social media presence. The next week it could be an activity to help you get out of your own way, overcome resistance, or be nicer to yourself.

The unifying factor is that each one will invite you to take a simple (if not easy) step just outside your current comfort zone, in order to help move you just a little closer to your goals.

Oh, and each message will be short enough to read on your phone between meetings.

Sound like fun?  Click here to subscribe!

Need some convincing?  Check out a couple of the messages you’ve missed.

Do You Equate Boring with Serious?

Do you believe the only way to become a thought leader in your field is to express yourself in as dry a manner as possible?

Do you use data or graphs your audience won’t be able to read so your opinion seems well-researched?

Do you obfuscate your  meaning with words like obfuscate to make yourself feel smarter?

Do you wonder why you have a hard time bringing outsiders into your fold?

Unless you work in web development, gaming, or some corners of the internet marketing sector, the answer to these questions is most likely yes.  It also explains why if I were to sum up my consulting practice into one sentence it would be:

Stop sapping the awesome out of your inherently amazing work. Continue reading