Hello friends,

     I hope this issue finds you keeping busy but still having time for fun and balance in your life. With the crisis in the Gulf Coast continuing to captivate the world, I encourage you to do what you can to help. Give money to reputable charities (I have a link on the front page of the TWB site to donate to the Mennonite Disaster Service), donate goods if you are in an area that is close enough, donate blood for the ongoing medical needs of people. And, if you are able to - Volunteer! Whether you collect funds, food or necessities - or you give time at a local shelter, or animal shelter - your work is valuable and helpful.

     Business Tool - here's a great online tool that I've recently discovered that will help you create "winning headlines" for your articles, sales letters and web sites. Go to the Headline Analyzer  to see how well you create winning headlines.

     "Before you can be creative, you must be courageous."

—Joey Reiman, CEO, BrightHouse

  Want to increase your profile online? One of the ways that I've been able to generate more traffic (and more business) is to submit articles to various online sites that specialize in providing articles for newsletters, and directly to newsletters and websites where "your" ideal client is. In less than a year this has made MAJOR changes in my business. I wrote about a dozen articles on various business topics, submitted them to at least 10 sites a week, and now if you type my name "Wendy McClelland" into Google - over 66,000 links come up. 

  If you feel you can't write - I challenge you to write simple "Top 10 lists" and submit those! As an example, if you sell gourmet dog treats why not write something like "The Top 10 Fun Things to do with Your Dog on a Rainy Day" - now you can submit this to almost any site that has something to do with dogs or pets! Include a short bio with a link back to your site (or at least your email address if you don't have a newsletter yet).

  Opportunity to help - I'm currently working with a great organization here in my hometown, Abbotsford, British Columbia. The MSA Society for Community Living provides services (daycare, assisted living, job training, mentoring, activities, etc) for adults with developmental disabilities. Some of their clients have Down's syndrome, Autism and other disabilities. After decades of using old, worn out buildings the society has been able to acquire another building (not new, but renovatable). This new building needs lots of things to make it usable for this non-profit organization, including:

-  industrial tile flooring, double pane windows, window coverings         
-  plates for the bottom of doors to protect them from damage by wheelchairs and walkers
-  wooden deck for back patio
-  small powered lift for auditorium steps

Once the building is completed there are many items that will be needed to furnish the building and enhance the lives of the individuals who use the premises. These include:

-  computers, printers and educational software
-  high definition TV projector, screen and surround sound (for the media room)
-  CD/tape players, DVD player, wall or ceiling mounted stereo (for media room), audio-visual trolley for TV/VCR/DVD

How can you help? By donating any of these items - or the many others that will be needed (email me and I will send you a complete list), or by donating cash to help purchase these items. All donations will receive a tax receipt upon request.

Want to know more? Just email me for more information.