I just love this Mad Tea Party glass! And for only 5 bucks, it would make a nice vessel for my morning iced tea! Delightful!

Check it out here!

Ok so I’m no economist, but I do work in an industry that works closely with new businesses. Maybe you haven’t seen this, so I’m sharing my experience. I’m pretty sure I am living proof that Americans have the ability to turn this economy around with just a little bit of hard work.

My point? I’ve seen what is working in these times of hardship. The key is this: If something isn’t working, try something new.

Got laid off? Business failing? Get a new career. Go back to school. Start a new business. Do something you love for a change. Or take a chance and do something you don’t like because you know it will put food on the table. Work hard. Do SOMETHING.

The businesses I work with are finally starting to see the value of separating themselves from the pack. If their products aren’t selling, they’re offering a new product that caters to today’s green-minded and budget-minded public. If their marketing tactics aren’t working, they’re going for a truthful, direct approach to selling their goods and services.

This is the only way that businesses will survive. Some businesses will die out, and that’s just fine. The public is changing and so are their tastes. But the smart owners will tap into the next big thing (or the next new thing) to stay afloat.

It’s not that difficult to do something new. It just takes research and hard work. Find out where your talents can be used. Find out what the public needs and fill that need.

Don’t sit back and wait for the wave of layoffs if you know it’s inevitable. Be proactive and prepare yourself for the storm. An umbrella and a raincoat go a long way in the rain.

Like I said, I’m no economist, but I know what works. I’ve seen it, and I’ve done it.

To living!

Brianna
Owner and Mad Designer
Mad Hatter Design Company

Wanna know a secret? Sure, you do! There is a surefire way to help your business grow. It’s not shameless promotion (well, some of it is), and it’s not whoring yourself out to people for too low of a rate. The secret? Blog. About everything. It’s not hard. I’ll give you a perfect example of how and why blogging for your business works.

Let’s use my dear friend Mirella, who creates beautiful wedding flowers, as an example…I know she won’t mind.

Mirella started her floral business in 2008. It was getting steady, but not really taking off the way she wanted. Mirella starting blogging. Religiously. So much so that I’m embarrassed by my puny amount of posts!

So, she blogged. Then she blogged some more. And you know what? She’s still blogging. Mirella writes about things other than flowers. She writes about wedding planners and graphic designers and anything she thinks might interest her clientele. The woman is a blogging machine. She also promotes her newest creations, seasonal flowers, and wedding shows that she’s attended.

To help further boost her traffic and get some qualified leads, Mirella developed a contest for new brides on her blog. The contest has helped her gather incredibly hot leads for new brides who need wedding flowers. And she blogged all about it.

One of the most interesting things I’ve found is how Mirella’s blogging has boosted traffic to my own site. She interviewed the Mad Hatter on her blog and that one post sends tons of traffic to my site. Mirella’s efforts to boost her own traffic are spilling over into the worlds of those she blogs about. What a fabulous way to build business relationships and trust with other business owners! Just fab.

Ok, so it’s not really a secret that blogging works for business, but so many people don’t do it (or slack off, like me) and there’s just no excuse. It’s one of the cheapest, easiest, most effective ways to drive traffic to your website. Let’s not neglect blogging any longer!

So, if you’re not sure how to get started with your blog, it’s best to talk to a *cough* blog designer to find out. Wordpress blogs are pretty simple and straightforward, but you’ll want to host it on your own domain – none of this Wordpress.com stuff. Again, if you’re not sure what this means, I know an awesome Wordpress blog designer who can explain all the technical stuff!

Happy blogging, people!

I purchased the Rockable Press How to be a Rockstar Wordpress Designer this morning and let me tell you, it is awesome!! You need to have a good grasp of HTML and CSS before taking this course, but other than that, it’s a great way to get started designing your own themes! You get demo files and themes to work with when you purchase the book! It doesn’t get much better than that!

Too cool!

Click here to check out Rockable’s awesome products!

Oh, and you can click the Rockable Banner in the sidebar to purchase it directly!

A useful and simple plugin is the Wordpress Automatic Upgrade Plugin. This short video shows how to upload, install, and use this easy-as-pie plugin! Thanks for watching, and be sure to let us know what you want to see!

Click here to view Installing the Upgrade Plugin. You will need a Flash viewer to watch this short video!

Mad Hatter Design Co. is proud to announce the launch of another fab Virtual Assistant service, Diamond Virtual Services!

The wonderful Erika Meiser of Diamond Virtual Services wanted an elegant and professional logo and website that included her chosen colors. Erika’s eggplant and cocoa color combo is a sure-fire winner! Erika’s site also includes some cool features like live chat and embedded video!Also, be sure to check out her blog!

Thanks for a fun project, Erika! We look forward to seeing your success in 2009!