Thanksgiving is a time when we all get together with family and friends and eat a big meal. At our home we have a tradition of writing things that we are thankful for on small pieces of paper and reading them. This got me thinking about many of the things as a small business owner that I am thankful for. Read on and add your own personal things to be thankful for:

*a country where I can start my own business

*my home-based business so I can be home when my children are ill

*freedom to worship God as I choose

*computers

*books

*my car

*great neighbors

*my copy machine

*my cell phone

*indoor heating

Some of these things may seem trite – however, in America we are truly blessed and have many things, large and small, to be thankful for.

Look at the chart below and you will see that it really is that simple:

Back in the olden days when businesses wanted to keep track of what they earned and what they spent, they developed the double entry bookkeeping system. The basis of this system is that every time you put an amount on the left side, you also put that same amount on the right side. This system helped business owners minimize errors by keeping “All in Balance.” Both the right and left sides had to be the same amounts.

When you debit an account you put the amount in the left column, and when you credit an account you put the amount in the right column. Some accounts are “Debit” accounts because that increases their value and some accounts are “Credit” accounts because that increases their value. Debits must always equal credits. Accounts were kept in ledgers. Each account had it’s own ledger as shown below. Every time you collected money or paid money, this was recorded in at least 2 ledgers. At the end of the month (or week, or whatever) you would post the balance of the ledgers to the General Journal.

Example: On September 2 you deposit $1,000 into your newly created business checking account. On September 3, you pay $500 for web development:

It really is that easy!

Blogs are fun to write and read. They help us feel connected to each other. They convey information. They entertain, inform, and sometimes even put us to sleep. So wake up your blogs with pictures. For professional looking photos, try istock photos.

istock photos is a great place to get professional images. All the images are royalty free, but do need to be paid for in credits. Photos cost between 1 and 20 credits each. Depending on your subscription level, a credit costs between 96 cents and 24 cents.

getty images is another option. They have wonderful photos. However, they are a bit pricer. Their subscription is $1,5999 per year.

flickr is my favorite site. Their images are free, as long as you credit the photographer and link to their page on flickr. You can read more about flicker at Skelliwag.org. This article discussed the creative commons license and how to property use it.

You can also take a break from writing and take a few pictures yourself.

Are you a Red or a Blue? I don’t mean your political party (even though today is election day), I mean your color code. The Color Code is a fascinating book by Taylor Hartman which puts our personalities in perspective and assigns each personality a color code. Besides Red and Blue, there is also White and Yellow.

Reds are productive individuals who are motivated by power. They like to look good to others, are logical, and seek leadership positions. Blues are motivated by altruism. They tend to be emotional, and want to be understood and appreciated. Whites are motivated by peace and other people’s desires. They are both logical and emotional and generally keep a low profile. Yellows are motivated by fun. They are very emotional and want to be popular and part of the action.

So what does knowing about the different colors have to do with writing? Nothing! But it does have an correlation with marketing. Keep in mind that being popular and part of the action is an important consideration when purchasing for people who are Yellow; while Reds seek factual information to justify their purchases. Both emotional and logical buying justifications can be made with a White Paper or in a Case Study. Just include elements of both. Facts about product features and benefits will resonate with Reds and Whites. Personal benefits that appeal to emotions will affect buying decisions of Blues and Yellows. So use your understanding of motivators to increase your sales.