I’ve spent the better part of the last two months doing a serious update to my Website. If you’re reading this post through a blog reader, click on through and take a peek.

Because traffic to my blog had outstripped traffic to my site, and because I was tired of maintaining two sites, I incorporated the blog into my site and moved the whole kit and kaboodle to WordPress.

Woot! This is something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while now.

Working on a project of this nature is like redoing your bathroom. You take down the ugly wallpaper and realize you need to gut the entire bathroom.

I started moving content over and quickly realized my old copy did not describe what I now offer clients — my business having changed dramatically in the last two years.

As a result, I had an existential break-down trying to figure out what exactly I do for a living — and ended up calling Michele Linn, who graciously took over writing my Services pages and my “Why I’m Different” page. She also went through my entire site and made a bunch of recommendations — all of which I incorporated.

Michele, you are awesome! XOXOXOXOXOXOX

A huge thank you, too, to Stephen and Rachel at Cre8d Design who oversaw the move, redesigned the headers, and made sure everything works fine. If you need WordPress experts — call them. They’re the absolute best.

Take a look around and let me know what you think. And if you find any typos or broken links, let me know and I’ll send you a $5 Starbucks card.

Now I’m off to go have a cocktail (maybe two!).

Each year I “unplug” for 10 days. Basically this means I don’t use the computer — for anything. I’m always surprised by how difficult this is — and how the first two days are like going without caffeine.

Checking things like Twitter, LinkedIn, other blogs, this blog’s comments, email, etc. does give me a buzz. (I also realize how much time these things take, too.)

Suffice to say, I always come back refreshed and full of ideas, and that’s because I spend my time not thinking about much of anything, sleeping, and reading. It’s a wonderful 10 days.

And with that, Friday afternoon (today!) starts my annual unplugged vacation! Woo hoo!

I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth, although judging by my lack of blog posts, it appears that I might have.

My lack of posting is due to a number of factors: I went on vacation, I moved my office, and I’ve been working hard on getting my new site up and running: The Profitable Consultant.

I’m pretty excited about this site — which is geared toward consultants and freelancers in any industry who want to learn how to better market their businesses.

As I explain on the About Us page, I’ve worked with small to large B2B companies for years now, but have always had consultants and freelancers call me to ask for advice about how to start a business, how to optimize their sites, or how to better market themselves.

My mission has always been to help businesses achieve real results through marketing, so combining marketing, coaching, and my love for helping people made sense — hence, The Profitable Consultant.

Check it out and let me know what you think! I’m still fixing minor bugs, so if you find anything, give me a shout.

Also be sure to download my latest product: Goof-Proof Email: How to Avoid the Seven Most Common Email Pitfalls.

Photo credit goes to Carlton SooHoo, a *fabulous* photographer. Site design by Sonora DesignWorks in Amesbury, MA. (Thanks a bunch, Del!)

A few years ago, the Boston Globe ran a full size ad. In the left column were four lines:

Most People

I have a dream I won the lottery.

I have a dream that I own a big house and a big car.

I have a dream that I am a big movie star.

On the right hand side of the page it reads:

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The text of his “I have a dream” speech which extends down the length of the page

The visual difference between “normal” dreams and Dr. King’s dreams is striking, which is why I hung that page on the wall in my office. Each time I read it, I think, “How do I dream?” It reminds me that while having a house or success is nice, there are more important things.

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I’ve included the full 17 minute video of his speech.

If you’re a mom, you have to watch this mom video. It’s priceless.

Hat tip to Karen Gedney for sending the link.

Have a wonderful, relaxing Memorial Day holiday, everyone.

Ted Demopoulos and I are moderating NEDMA’s ‘07 Conference Blog — which is now up and running.

I’m pretty excited about it because it gives me a chance to delve deeper into social and viral marketing, Web 2.0 and all those things.

And, whether or not you’re a NEMDA member, if you add a link to the Conference Blog to your blog roll, we’ll send you this cute blog bug.

One reason I’ve slacked on posting of late is because I had one those “out of body” experiences.

Or perhaps “out of blog” is a better phrase.

A few weeks ago I attended a neighborhood meeting.

We live on a residential street where the speed limit is 25 miles per hour.

However, our street is also a cut-through to two main roads, so residential and commercial drivers speed down our road — at speeds that have become dangerous.

After receiving a number of complaints, the Chief of Police held a meeting in order to give us a chance to talk about it.

(Vent our spleens is more like it. You have no idea how scary it is to be walking your two dogs and have an 18-wheeler barreling down on you at 40+ miles per hour.)

It was a good meeting. We discussed ways of getting the word out that people need to slow down — but realized we had few options:

• Newspapers – Nope, won’t work. The major newspaper eliminated our “town page” nor does everyone subscribe to the paper. (And apparently, reporter turnover is high.)
• Town Website — Nope, won’t work. Most people stated they really weren’t online much — not everyone makes a point to visit the town Website. (I think I was the only one — that tells your something.)
• Annual report — Nope, won’t work. People throw those away without reading them. (Again, I was one of the few who reads the damn thing every year.)

As someone with a foot in both traditional and online media, I came away dumbfounded that we had no real way of educating drivers that they need to slow down in our neighborhood.

This is due in part to the breakdown of traditional media.

It’s also due to the fact that while we who are online like to beat our chests about how the Internet has changed everything, not everyone is aware of these changes.

Nor do they care about them.

I also learned that only one of my neighbors actually knew my name. (Everyone else knew me as the “lady who walks her dogs every morning.”)

The entire experience was quite profound and caused me to stop and think — which is what I’ve been doing instead of blogging.

It also made me get out more and interact with people in the real world. (Who needs Second Life when you have a real life?)

What’s your opinion? How do we communicate with people who have disengaged from traditional media but have yet to become full participants in new media?

Plucked this from Yahoo News . . . Jim Citrin sent surveys to 20 CEOs about their early morning routines and posted an article detailing his survey results.

Of the 20, seventeen responded. The results? Successful people get up early. (But you knew that from grade school, right? “Early to bed and early to rise” and all that.)

Most CEOs are up before 6:00 AM — a time which places me in good company. I’m up at 5:00 and usually spend a good hour tackling email before hopping in the shower.

Other early morning habits? Reading the news, exercising, and eating breakfast with family. I also do all three — except my exercise consists of walking the dogs. Nothing like a good walk in frigid weather to get the brain cells firing.

One habit I didn’t see? Planning your work day. I dive right into work each day because I make my to-do list the night before.

What are your early morning habits?

In his TechCrunch blog, Michael Arrington posts the Web 2.0 companies he can’t live without. It’s a pretty good list. Although I’m not into Web 2.0 start-ups as much as Michael is, I do have a number of tools and Websites I use on a regular basis. Why? Because they work!

Herewith — my favorite online and offline tools I can’t live without:

WordPress

I agree with Michael. I use WordPress for the MarCom-Writer-Blog. Once I got the hang of it, I realized the application is perfect for Web design — because it’s so easy to use. When I redo my current DH Communications site, I’ll probably do it in WordPress.

Trellian’s Keyword Discovery

Oh mama! Do I love this keyword tool. You simply type in a keyword phrase and Trellian spits back how many people searched on it in the last 12 months PLUS keyword variations. It has completely simplified and enhanced how I do SEO for clients.

Spud City’s TraxTime 

I keep track of all of my time — billable and otherwise — with TraxTime’s time clock. It sits in my system tray and each time I change projects, I clock in and out. This way I’m able to see how much time I waste and how much I’m actually billing out every day.

MyYahoo

I like MyYahoo because I’m able to list all my blog and news feeds in one location. I also use Yahoo’s email client.

Google

Google alerts, Google maps, Google analytics, the Google search engine. Can anyone go all day without consulting Google? I can’t.

Quickbooks

Ok, Intuit makes me mad when they phase out older versions of Quickbooks, forcing you to upgrade every couple of years. But they make a great product chockful of tools small businesses need. I use their payroll module and their merchant services. This means I can send out invoices over email and clients can then pay them using a credit card.

Planner Pads

The heart of my business and my life. The wonderful thing about a Planner Pad is that it’s not just a calendar — it’s really a system for your entire life. In addition to my business I juggle a traveling husband, my son and all his activities, two dogs, my own schedule, the house, and my volunteer activities. The Planner Pad keeps everything in order for me.

FlyLady 

Shhh . . . this is my real secret to keeping it all together. FlyLady helps “stressed home executives” manage their homes and their lives. With close to 400,000 subscribers around the world, FlyLady is a true model of business and personal success.