There are so many other business lessons I think can be learned from Dolly Parton. Whether you love her or hate her you can’t deny that she has had great success and endured in a business where so many disappear.

To learn more about the SWBN visit http://www.swbnetwork.com

I’ve mentioned this on numerous occasions in the past but it is worth saying again: not every one is going to like you and your approach to business. Not everyone is going to warm to you or feel comfortable with your style or ethics.

And that’s OK...

For more from the Secret Women's Business Network visit http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog

Early on in this series we talked about not making excuses for what you don’t have and making the best of what you do. If you spend your time making excuses you will never actually start DOING anything!

But you should also be aware of your weaknesses and know when it’s time to bring in people that can do the things you are less able to do.

For more from the Secret Women's Business Network visit http://www.swbnetwork.com

As a business person you should be prepared to use different media to communicate to your customers.

Different people like to consume information in different ways. Some of us prefer the written word, some like video and some like audio. 

For more from the SWBN visit http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog

In order to have an enduring career any music star has to grow as an artist and reinvent themselves and what they do in order to appeal to new generations.

You should also be growing your business and appealing to new customers. However, it's important not to leave your raving fans behind.

For more from the Secret Women's Business Network visit: http://www.swbnetwork.com

Today's lesson from Dolly Parton is actually more of a life lesson that can (and should) be applied to your business.

Robert Brault said “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”

Celebrate the little things in your life and your business.Don't become jaded.

For more from the SWBN visit: http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog

If you are starting an online business, it's easy to believe that you need endless courses, tools, gadgets and software in order to succeed. Some of these can make life easier or teach you valuable new skills, but they aren't essential. You can get started with whatever skills and resources you do have and add to these along the way.

For more from the Secret Women's Business Network and to join our Members' Area, visit http://www.swbnetwork.com

The first of our "Things I Learned About Business from Dolly Parton" is to stop making excuses for the things your DON'T have.

Dolly was brought up in the poorest of circumstances but it didn't stop her pursuing her music career. She didn't wait until everything was perfect, she just went ahead and did it.

To join the SWBN members' area and find out more about the Secret Women's Business Network visit: http://www.swbnetwork.com

Many of us have business heroes - people we feel we would like to emulate in business, or who we respect for their business prowess.

Some obvious business heroes include, Warren Buffett, Richard Branson, Anita Roddick and Oprah Winfrey, but it could just as easily be a family member who has inspired you to succeed.

This Bitesize podcast introduces a famous name who may not immediately come to mind as a business heroine.

For more from the SWBN and to become a founder member of the Secret Women's Business Network, visit http://www.swbnetwork.com

There are still many of you bristling at the idea of what you see as "fabricating" your personality, so I want to illustrate what I mean by returning to the world of radio presenters.

If you would like to learn more about the Secret Women's Business Network please visit http://www.swbnetwork.com

Once you've given some thought to the key aspects of the persona you wish to portray in public, you have your story, and you have aligned yourself with a particular personality model, what can you do to share, develop and maintain that persona?

For more from the Secret Women's Business Network, please visit http://www.swbnetwork.com

Some business personas work better than others and seem to have greater longevity.There are some personalities that are simply more appealing.

You probably will naturally align your own persona with one of these (or even a mixture of two) and then build your story around it.

For more from the SWBN visit: http://www.swbnetwork.com

There are endless courses online teaching "How to be a Social Media Celebrity" which are essentially designed to show you how to build a strong persona online and use social media to improve your business.

These can be a huge turn-off for people who "don't want to be a celebrity"!

But what exactly is celebrity all about?This podcast explores the term further.

To become a part of the Secret Women's Business Network please visit: http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog/members-area/

It's human nature to want everyone to like you, but if you want to be a market leader you will have to take a stand for something (and against something).

This will make you unpopular in some areas but will help you build a raving fan base. Being lukewarm is not something that makes a market leader.

For more on the SWBN visit: http://www.swbnetwork.com

Breaking down what market leaders do to make them the market leaders is a great exercise, and there are some success models that you can adopt too.

But if you want to be a leader and not a follower you need to stop imitating and be uncommon.

To become a part of the Secret Women's Business Network please visit: http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog/members-area/

A great exercise is to think about the people who are leaders in your market or in markets you follow and are interested in.

What do you know about them? Why do you follow them? What's their story? Then see if you own online content is as easy to analyse.

To learn more about the SWBN visit: http://www.swbnetwork.com

What do you have in common with these films, books and tv shows?

Well, if you want to be a market leader then people will want to know about you before they invest time, money and energy in you.

Who are you? What do you stand for? What are your personal philosophies? What's your story?

For more from the SWBN visit http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog

If you're in any doubt about the idea of people buying into people, then this Bitesize podcast illustrates the point further.

Examples from tv, film and literature prove that people buy into characters not just with money but with their time and emotion too.

For more SWBN Biteseize podcasts visit http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog

Why is your persona important? Why can't you just be yourself and go with the flow?

Essentially, people buy into people and you are your own USP. In order to build a relationship with your audience/followers/customers they are going to know who you are and what you stand for.

Learn more about the SWBN at http://www.swbnetwork.com

In this SWBN Bitesize podcast Lisa introduces the idea of creating and establishing your online and business persona.

This isn't about play-acting or deception, but about highlighting and enhancing the parts of your character and areas of your life that will appeal to your market and the people you are interacting with. Helping you establish yourself as the leader in your field.

Add your comments and follow along with this series at http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog

Our final success principle in the series is to simple be EXTRAORDINARY in everything you do.

You are your business's greatest asset so stop worrying about what you can't do and be the best YOU possible.

To sign up for updates from the SWBN visit: http://www.swbnetwork.com

One business principle which, when adopted, will help you to grow your business dramatically is to stop doing everything yourself and start outsourcing some of the smaller, more time-consuming tasks.

Once you release those from your control you will find greater focus and be able to concentrate on the bigger picture.

To find out more about the SWBN visit: http://www.swbnetwork.com

When you work in an online business or as a sole trader it's easy to start thinking you don't need anyone else and can work-out everything on your own. But seeking out the best mentors, teachers, and business network is vital to your (speedy) success.

Take the time to find the people and the environments you feel comfortable with, but who you know have the skills, experience and knowledge you need, and who will challenge you to improve your business.

For more from the SWBN visit http://www.swbnetwork.com

Many people enter into a business so excited about finally being their own boss and being able to follow their passion. They know what they are interested in and what they want to do.

But in order to be successful there is an important principle you can't (or shouldn;t) avoid: Find a Need and Fill It.

For updates on the SWBN head over to http://www.swbnetwork.com

This week we continue exploring success principles.

Today's principle applies in business and beyond - always give great value. Stop thinking about "What's in it for me?" and start thinking about what your customer wants and needs.

For more SWBN Bitesize, visit http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog

Many people, even marketers, talk about marketing techniques as if they are something dirty and underhand. But learning and applying good marketing techniques is vital for any business.

Simply put, direct marketing is communicating with individuals through different media in order to acquire a desired response. What's dirty and underhand about that?

If you've missed any SWBN Bitesize podcasts visit http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog

Today's success principle involves pursuing and acquiring information continuously throughout your lifetime.

Never stop learning!

But knowledge is not power - you have to apply that knowledge to succeed.

To keep up to date with the SWBN please sign-up at http://www.swbnetwork.com

We all have ingrained beliefs, especially surrounding what we can and can't achieve, what's possible and what isn't.

It's time for you to release those limitations and re-program your thinking.

To hear more SWBN Biteseize podcasts visit http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog

P.S. I say a word in this one that some would consider "explicit" - just a warning for the sensitive!

There are some principles that apply to achieving success, whatever your goal and whatever your business.

In today's Bitesize podcast I talk about one of the most important of all - taking action.

It's time to be courageous!

To learn more about the Secret Women's Business Network sign-up at http://www.swbnetwork.com

If you look back over the past decade you'll realise just how much you have packed into 10 years, and how many things you've achieved.

In the future, everytime you think something is too tough remember those achievements (small and large).

To keep up to date with the Secret Women's Business Network visit: http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog

I end the year with my online business predictions for 2010.

I'm not one to make predictions normally - I usually leave that for the Internet Marketing "Gurus" or our own Allison Reynolds (she has a nose for changes in online business), but these are some of the things I think are becoming more important and/or vital for online businesses.

Allison, Barb and I would like to wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2010.

To keep up to date with the Secret Women's Business Network visit: http://www.swbnetwork.com

There are major differences between New Year's Resolutions and realistic goal setting, which is why resolutions tend to fail within a week of having made them.

This Bitesize podcast looks at why resolutions usually fail and how knowing this can enable you to set better goals for you and your business in 2010.

For more SWBN Bitesize visit http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog

Before Christmas we were pruning your business and cutting away the dead wood, this week we are setting our goals for 2010, breaking them down into smaller goals and creating an action plan in order to achieve them.

Setting big or vague goals for yourself will only result in an inability to focus on what needs to be done to achieve them so you need to make them more manageable

For more from the SWBN visit http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog

More on pruning your business today as we look at how and why you should be stepping away from some projects and selling your websites.

For more SWBN bitesize visit: http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog

For Ed Dale's Buying and Selling Websites course visit http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog/valuingwebsites

**Apologies for the static on the recording - I've removed as much as possible but it seems to have been a computer soundcard issue**

Now that you've taken stock of what's working and what isn't, it's time to cut away the dead wood so that your business can bloom in 2010.

It can be a scary and uncomfortable exercise but things will blossom as a result. We all have projects and websites that force us to lose focus on the important things - the things that are working for us.

For more SWBN Bitesize podcasts visit http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog

Now that you have your stats and have been monitoring your business activity, it's time to take stock.

What is working and what isn't? What is costing money? What is taking up your time?

Only by knowing these things about your business can you determine what's best for it...what your next steps should be....and what you should focus on in 2010

For more SWBN Bitesize visit http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog

Finally in our series on tracking is the need to track online activity surrounding your name, your brand/websites and your market.

Monitor what people are saying about you and your niche or market. This can be done really quickly by setting up Google alerts and clever use of your Google Reader.

To learn more about the SWBN please visit http://www.swbnetwork.com

Trisha Stewart, a nutritionist and natural health practitioner, talks with Lisa Hartwell about the importance of maintaining your health even when you are bogged down with your business and family.

In this full length podcast from the Secret Women's Business Network, Trisha discusses the necessity for being mindful of what you eat and how to stay healthy throughout the holiday season and beyond.

To learn more about Trisha Stewart and her books visit http://www.trishastewart.com

For more on the SWBN visit http://www.swbnetwork.com

It's vital you monitor your Pay-per-Click campaign stats closely to avoid paying out unnecessarily OR spending more money than your business can afford.

This podcast offers some ideas of the numbers you should be looking particularly closely at and what to do if they don't measure up to your needs or expectations

To learn more about the Secret Women's Business Network visit http://www.swbnetwork.com

What other business stats should you be monitoring?

This SWBN Bitesize offers some more ideas on what statistics to check regularly, what they might mean and what changes you might like to make. For example, are you checking all clicks to links are you site, especially affiliate links? If not, you are missing out on important opportunity to improve your business income.

For more from the Secret Women's Business Network visit: http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog

Google Analytics is a great place to start tracking your website stats.

In this SWBN Bitesize, Lisa talks about some of the stats you should be tracking through Analytics, what they mean, and what you might choose to do about them.

To listen to more Bitesize podcasts from the Secret Women's Business Network visit http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog

Many of us hate keeping track of our business stats but it's a vital part of improving everything you do. In fact just the process of tracking your statistics will help them improve.

Over the next few SWBN Bitesize podcasts Lisa will be discussing why you should be tracking your stats, what you should be looking for and what to do about the results.

To listen to more bitesize podcasts visit http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog

How welcoming is your website? Does it make people want to stick around and visit for a while? Will they want to come back?

In this SWBN Bitesize from the Secret Women's Business Network, Lisa talks about the importance of making your website appealing to visitors.

For more from the SWBN visit the blog at http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog

Plymouth Bus Station gets it in the neck in this SWBN Bitesize as we look deeper into the subject of creating signposts for your visitors. Not only does Plymouth Bus Station have a distinct lack of clear signposts but they don't make it a particularly nice place to hang around.

You may not want visitors to click a certain link or fill-out their email address, you may simply want them to browse your blog and learn more about you and your area of expertise. That's why you need every aspect of your blog or website to be clear and easy to navigate.

Don't forget to visit the Secret Women's Business Network

When I was at the Coming Home Seminar in Manchester I got lost....a lot! But it's a great metaphor for the signs you give to visitors to your website. You need to make it clear exactly what your want visitors to do and where you want them to go. Don't leave it to chance.

At the seminar there were daily Hot Seat sessions that looked at the problems attendees were having with their websites. The overwhelming problem in all cases was that visitors were not being given clear directions.

Click here for more from the Secret Women's Business Network

We are constantly resisting things we know we should be doing in our lives and our businesses. This SWBN Bitesize focuses on why that resistance occurs and what it usually means.

To help beat your resistance visit the Secret Women's Business Network at http://www.swbnetwork.com

And keep listening for more SWBN Bitesize podcasts

Every business (and business person) needs a kick up the backside occasionally to pick up momentum and have a renewed energy for what you do.

In this second SWBN Bitesize podcast I talk about how the Coming Home Seminar and Ed Dale in particular gave me a much needed kick up the bum.

For more from the Secret Women's Business Network visit: http://www.SWBNetwork.com/blog

SWBN Bitesize are a new addition to the Secret Women's Business Network podcast stream. If you listen to the first of the bitesize podcasts you'll understand why. We'll still have larger podcast interviews but they will be interspersed between the smaller podcasts, which are designed to give regular business advice.

In this first SWBN Bitesize, Lisa Hartwell talks about the recent Thirty Day Challenge Coming Home Seminar in Manchester and what Ed Dale was talking about in relation to micro transactions.

For more from the Secret Women's Business Network visit http://www.SWBNetwork.com/blog

Chandra Clarke is founder, co-owner and President of Scribendi - an online editing and proofreading company - and a self-confessed tech and science geek.

In this podcasr, Chandra chats with Lisa Hartwell about website usability, out tasking and achieving a work-life balance.

You can find out more about Chandra by following @CKClarke on Twitter, visiting her personal humor blog, and visiting her editing and proofreading company, Scribendi.com.

A Q&A session on Online Business and Marketing with the SWBN team.

Lisa, Barb and Allison from the Secret Women's Business Network answer some of your questions on business and marketing, including:

1. why send an email newsletter?
2. how to choose a topic for your ebook
3. how to manage multiple online personalities
4. What will be the next Internet Marketing BIG THING?
   

If you found this useful and would like to ask a question of the team then please go to the blog at http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog, send them a message on Twitter or head over to the SWBN Friendfeed group.

June Mattiza runs The Media Collective, a company that helps businesses get noticed online, and enables them to find where their customers are and what they want.

In this podcast she discusses what businesses should be doing online, the mistakes she sees them making, and how social networking can really boost a company's profile and help them to reach and talk to customers in an environment they find comfortable.

To follow June on Twitter got to http://twitter.com/MediaCollective or visit her website http://www.TheMediaCollective.com

Susan Lewis has been in the enviable position of spending 6 months studying and working with marketer, speaker and author Seth Godin.

In this podcast, Susan talks to Lisa Hartwell about the incredible 6 months she has spent in New York, what she has learned from spending time with Seth and her fellow MBA students, and where she goes from here in her quest to "change the world"

You can find out more about Susan at Susan Hires a Boss, Twitty Questions and by following @SusanVLewis on Twitter.

Vince Samios discusses his free Inlinks Passive Income Strategy with Lisa Hartwell from the Secret Women's Business Network, as well as lead generation, Facebook advertising and Twitter traffic.

Vince Samios is a young Australian entrepreneur who is making a good living online. In this podcast he shares some of the ways he does this, why he has chosen to give his strategies away for free and the aspects of Internet Marketing everyone should be aware of in order to be successful online.

To learn more about the Inlinks Passive Income Strategy visit Vince's blog at http://www.VinceSamios.com and follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/vincesamios

To comment on this podcast and learn more about creating a successful business online AND offline visit the Secret Women's Business Network blog.

Susan Smith has been an online marketer since the early days of the Internet in 1994. She works with a variety of business clients including National Geographic, and helps individuals through her website Women's Work.

In this week's SWBN podcast she talks with Lisa Hartwell about being a woman in what was once a male-dominated environment, creating a balance between work and family life, and the biggest obstacle she sees people come up against when they are starting online businesses.

To follow Susan on Twitter click on @Susan_Smith

To comment on this podcast please visit the Secret Women's Business Network blog or the SWBN FriendFeed room.

Carolyne McCourtie is a full-time online marketer and business coach from Australia. If you have ever done the Thirty Day Challenge you will definitely know Caro, but apart from her participation there she keeps a relatively low profile in the world of Internet Marketing.

Caro talks to Lisa Hartwell of the Secret Women's Business Network about creating and building an online business and why mindset is so important to the success of that business.

This interview is packed full of great advice for any business owner, and especially if you are just starting out in business.

To discuss this podcast, please visit the SWBN Friendfeed room or add you comments to the Secret Women's Business Network blog.

You can follow Carolyne McCourtie on Twitter here.

Brent Hodgson, one of the team behind Market Samurai, talks to Lisa Hartwell of the Secret Women's Business Network, in the second part of his interview.

Last week he talked about the fundamentals of creating a good online business, this week you can hear him discuss extreme customer service, ethical marketing, and how to develop a great team.

You can follow Brent Hodgson and the Noble Samurai team on Twitter and learn more about Market Samurai here.

To discuss this podcast and the issues it raises, please visit the Secret Women's Business Network Friendfeed room or add your comments to the SWBN blog.

Brent Hodgson from Noble Samurai, the company behind the Market Samurai software talks to Lisa Hartwell of the Secret Womens Business Network.

Brent is a young Australian marketer and entrepreneur, who began his business career at the age of 12. In the first part of the interview he discusses the fundamentals of creating a good business online, whether it's realistic to start a business online with few skills and expect to make money relatively quickly, what he thinks about the big promises made by marketers who offer to sell you a blueprint to fast bucks, and his 3 Golden Rules for online marketing success.

To follow Brent or Noble Samurai on Twitter you can find them at @BrentHodgson and @NobleSamurai. You can learn more about Market Samurai here.

Next week, in the second part of this interview, you can hear Brent talking about ethical marketing, creating great, successful teams and extreme customer service.

The 3rd and final part of our Ed Dale meets the SWBN mini-series of podcasts.

In this podcast Ed discusses why there is often bitterness surrounding big Internet Marketing launches, the reason he is such a chick magnet, why it's important to protect your online environment, the difference between men and women, and why his approach to Facebook has changed.

If you missed the first 2 episodes of this interview then we suggest you listen to them first at the Secret Womens Business Network blog or at iTunes.

For more on Ed Dale you can follow him on Twitter at http//twitter.com/Ed_Dale, take the Thirty Day Challenge (for free) or sign-up for the Thirty Day Challenge Plus.

As always, check out the SWBN on the blog, on Twitter or in our FriendFeed room.

In this second part of our Ed Dale meets the SWBN Mini-Series of podcasts, Ed talks about the current global economic crisis, how the opportunities still exist for online marketers to make money and why chasing the next big moneymaking scheme is not the answer to paying your bills. He also answers a question that many people wanted to know the answer to: how does he manage to fit it all in?

If you missed the first podcast you can find it here at http://www.swbn.info, on the Secret Womens Business Network blog or at iTunes.

We highly recommend anyone new to online business or new to marketing their business online follow the Thirty Day Challenge. It's free and can be done anytime of the year.

More recently Ed has created the Thirty Day Challenge Plus which is the next step in the process, and teaches more indepth online business skills once the initial market research has been completed.

You can follow Ed on Twitter at @Ed_Dale.

As always you can follow the SWBN on Twitter at @SWBN and chat in our SWBN FriendFeed Room.

Ed Dale has been an important influence on the Secret Women's Business Network. We all met through the Thirty Day Challenge and have found some of our best training to come through the Thirty Day Challenge, the Underachievers program (no longer available) and the Immediate Edge. So, we were incredibly excited when Ed agreed to talk to us for the SWBN podcast.

Ed gave up nearly 2 hours of his time to talk to Lisa Hartwell and all of it was such valuable content that we have decided to spread it over 3 podcasts, now unofficially called the Ed Dale meets the SWBN Mini-series of Podcasts!

In this podcast, Ed shares his business history and some of the things he learned along the way, as well as the thinking behind the Thirty Day Challenge.

We highly recommend anyone new to online business or new to marketing their business online follow the Thirty Day Challenge at http://www.ThirtyDayChallenge.com. It's free and can be done anytime of the year.

More recently Ed has created the Thirty Day Challenge Plus at http://www.SWBN-Likes.com/30DCplus which is the next step in the process, and teaches more indepth online business skills once the initial market research has been completed.

You can follow Ed on Twitter at @Ed_Dale.

As always you can follow the SWBN on Twitter at @SWBN and chat in our SWBNetwork Friendfeed room - we'd love to get to know you better and discover your most burning questions about business and marketing.

You can also visit the blog at http://www.SWBNetwork.com/blog

In this podcast we talk about social bookmarking software and the benefits of collaboration with Nathan Ridley, the creator of Traffic Android. Nathan is from Brisbane, Australia but is currently part of the (in)famous Manchester Mob in the UK.

Nathan is another interviewee who tells me this is his first interview, although I'm starting to disbelieve it folks when they say that. They certainly don't sound as nervous as I did on my first interview.

If you'd like to follow Nathan on Twitter you can find him at @NathanRidley and you can get updates on Traffic Android too.

If you would like to discuss today's podcast, why not head over to the SWBNetwork FriendFeed room...

A bit of silliness for Christmas from the Secret Women's Business Network: outtakes and a Christmas message, plus the winners of our Pre-Christmas Twitter competition.

In the 3rd podcast from the Secret Womens Business Network, the tables are turned on Lisa Hartwell. As the third founding member of the SWBN she is put in the hotspot and interviewed by Barb Sabathil.

Discover how Lisa found her way into Internet Marketing from being a Voiceover and Broadcaster, what she considers her biggest failure (and what she learned from it), and why she cannot name her most embarrassing moment.

Don't forget to join us on Twitter and in our SWBNetwork Friendfeed room - we'd love to get to know you better and discover your most burning questions about business and marketing.

You can also visit the blog at http://www.SWBNetwork.com/blog

In this second podcast from the Secret Women's Business Network, I interview Barb Sabathil another of the the co-founders of the SWBN.

Barb talks about her previous life in the corporate cubicle world (think Dilbert only much prettier), life as an entrepreneur, learning to change her lifestyle to accommodate the demands her health places on her, and how the Internet is the perfect place for master craftspeople and artisans, such as her father, whose business she promotes online.

I also dissect a Twitter Birthday Treasure Hunt a group of Allison Reynold's friends created for her last weekend, and discuss the lessons we learned from it and how it could be done on a much bigger scale to promote your business, blog, charity or any other project you are involved in. You can watch the related Twitter Treasure Hunt videos on the SWBN blog at http://www.SWBNetwork.com/blog.

You can also subscribe to us on iTunes - just do a search for Secret Womens Business Network.

Until next time,

Lisa

Welcome to the first podcast from the Secret Womens Business Network.

In this podcast I have taken the opportunity to interview the founder of and driving force behind the SWBN - Allison Reynolds.

In future podcasts you will hear from Barb Sabathil and myself (Lisa Hartwell) about the skills and experiences we bring to the SWBN. Then we will move onto interviews with people we hope will interest you and will help you in your online businesses.

Feel free to contact us by email podcast (at) swbnetwork.com, you can Twitter us @SWBN or visit the SWBN blog: http://www.swbnetwork.com/blog

Please let us know if there are any topics you would like to hear discussed on the podcast, if you have any business related questions you would like answered, or if there is someone in particular you would like us to interview.

We look forward to your feedback.