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You may have heard about the Shine A Light program from American Express in partnership with NBC Universal, where you could possibly win  a $50,000 grant and $50,000 in marketing support from American Express. We checked out the program, and looked at the nominees (some are Collective-E members!) and  it’s really worth taking a few minutes to enter this program for the traffic driving potential and brand exposure alone for your small business, or business you choose to nominate (those who nominate have a chance of winning a $3,000 American Express gift card if your nomination is chosen as a finalist).

We know that nobody labors harder every day than a small business owner, so this Labor Day weekend you might want to consider doing something to celebrate yourself by nominating your business, a friend's business or a beloved small business in your community for the Shine A Light program.  The program will be judged on what inspires most based on innovation, community spirit and customer service. To make it even more exciting, some of our favorite entrepreneurs and experts are judging:

• Talk show host and entrepreneur Ellen DeGeneres (she tweets about it sometimes)
• Fashion designer and entrepreneur Diane von Furstenberg
• MSNBC's small business expert and host JJ Ramberg

Being nominated places your website link on a national website supported by American Express and NBC Universal.  We believe  many of you have exactly the types of inspirational businesses that they are looking for.

Also, don't be shy, we talked to the big wigs and they say it is totally acceptable - and encouraged - to nominate yourself!

Deadline for nomination is September 13th, 2009 and the winner will be announced October 19th, 2009.

Ready to enter? Here's How:
- Go to nbc.com/shinealight
- Submit a written nomination online for your business (or another business), accompanied by logo, photographs or video, if desired
- Tell all your friends via your newsletter, blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Collective-E's Link Love platform (which we Tweet often). If you'd like to get listed in our Link Love section, you must be a Collective-E member. Get more details on it here.
- You will be able to find promotional tools such as widgets and banners on the Shine A Light site to help you encourage online voting. Plus, such widgets and banners can also be used on Facebook and Myspace.

We created the Entrepreneur t-shirt with the goal that you could be your own billboard, sparking the curiosity of others when they see you to ask what you do. So far, it has been quite effective. Sabina has been engaged in conversation in her Brooklyn gym, and I've just had a story I wanted to share.

While in Cleveland on a mini-break to "the country" from NYC, I stopped in a Starbucks to grab some coffee beans and the free cup of coffee that comes with that. I wore my Entrepreneur t-shirt, as I was continuing on to tennis and yardwork that afternoon. An older grandfather type was behind me in line. He saw my shirt and asked:

"Are you an entrepreneur?" to which I responded "Yes, I have a design company that designs and develops websites, and I have an entrepreneurs agency with a community twist called Collective-E that serves entrepreneurs by helping them with website, PR and business strategy services, and acts as a marketing platform for them." Then I clarified to the barrista which flavor of coffee cake I wanted.

He continued in his questioning: "Do you know the definition of an entrepreneur?" to which I really didn't off the top of my head...reciting definitions has never been my strong suit. However, I don't think that the world agrees on this definition, based on my earlier encounters with self-declared non-entrepreneurs (who, like it or not, run their own businesses). Instead of giving my definition of an entrepreneur, I asked him what his was, since people seem to define it in different ways. He proceeded to recite to me a very neat and tidy definition, and concluded with: "But that is the definition of Peter Drucker, who invented the word 'entrepreneur.' You DO know who Peter Drucker is don't you?"

He must have sensed that I did not immediately jump at the mention of this name, so I admitted: "You know, I didn't know I was an entrepreneur until a couple of years ago, when I just kept making and selling things. That's my approach to entrepreneurship." Then he asked: "Where did you learn to become an entrepreneur?" So that all of you know, I majored in Communications in Media and was one class shy of a Creative Writing minor from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. But this was not my answer. My answer was this:

"Life! I have to buy this Starbucks somehow!" to which he said, "That's right! Good luck!" I had so much more to that answer, but I've never been very fast at quips. I wanted to add on: "I identify and solve problems and deliver results that people want." Then I left to sugar and cream my coffee. He was very into this topic!

My take-away was twofold:
1. This shirt is a conversation starter. And we have more t-shirts for Freelancers and Consultants.

2. One does not have to study entrepreneurism to be a successful entrepreneur. In fact, while I was in college, they were just building the Tate Center of Entrepreneurship, so it was not a possibility for me to formally study it there, and I had no intention of "studying business" in a business major. I was too busy selling ads for the school newspaper, being the editor in chief of the literary magazine, directing a play, working at a French cafe - not to mention schoolwork! I was more focused on the things I wished to do and accomplish then on studying a concept. Not that one shouldn't go to school for business or entrepreneurship or anything that interests them or to sharpen skills. I just think that not doing these things for whatever reason - choice or circumstance - should not be a barrier to you pursuing what it is you want. If you have the vision, go for it!

At the end of the day, if we can deliver a product that people want, that is the study of entrepreneurship.

This is a post that was inspired not once, but twice from people yelling outside of my window. The message, however, is deeply important and supremely simple. Yet, many of us overlook it. So let it serve as a reminder. If it doesn't bring you sales, it may just save your life.

First, let's set the stage: I live in a building in New York City, several floors up. I have windows on all sides of my apartment, and it is generally quiet, save for chirping birds, emergency sirens, and the occasional store-front protective metal door being closing at night. I am a Home Office Worker who has been working from home for two years.

LESSON FROM THE YOGI BEAR CHRISTIAN CLUB
Every summer afternoon at 3:00pm, a group of young adults get onto a microphone, and start yelling about a Yogi Bear Club where they are going to provide entertainment of some sort to kids. The yelling begins at the strike of 3pm every day, which is very distracting, and all I can do is wonder where they are. I have been outside during these afternoon hours to run errands, but have never seen this club meeting. I picture it to be a giant puppet show out the side of a truck, but have no idea. Only recently did they start mentioning Christian things, so I have learned that they are associated a faith-based related program of some sort.

In the winter, they have stopped their shows. For Easter, they did a special edition, and fired up the microphones at 1pm. They were shouting: "Come on! It's time for the Yogi Bear Club! We're going to start, it will be fun, etc. etc." After several of these encouraging announcements, they finally stated what they were doing: an Easter egg hunt. And not long after that, they finally stated: "Get up! Get out of bed! Come down to W. 103rd and Amsterdam! We are having an Easter egg hunt! Get out of bed! Come see us at W. 103rd and Amsterdam!"

By jove! An address! After all of these years! It occurred to me in that moment that for two years, they have never stated this. Or stated it once and did not repeat it. Not only that, but their language shifted to one that was speaking to people in buildings, who they presumed were sleeping. If this had been a Home Office Rally of some sort, had they said "Get off of your computer and get some fresh air!", that might have done the trick for me.

What I learned: They had neglected to state the most obvious piece of information that could get me there: their address. And, they thought about their audience and what their audience may be doing, and used a message that appealed directly to that audience. Business owners may forget this when they are Twittering, and forget to mention a website of where to find something. Or a postcard design may have a website address in an hard to notice spot. I know I've done it.

LESSON LEARNED FROM A PERSON STRANDED IN AN ELEVATOR
As I was developing a website proposal for a client, I heard a one-word shout outside. I heard it a few times. Sounded something like: "Bob!" I wondered if it it was a person in distress, but decided that it was not. The sound got closer, and I imagined that it was a woman looking for her son or lost dog. She started to speak a sentence, that sounded like: "Bob! Come home!" Eh, I ignored it and put full concentration back into my proposal.

The shout continued, and suddenly the word "...elevator..." floated into my open window. Now "elevator", spoken by a shouting person, can only mean one thing: they are stuck. I ran to my window, and shouted: "Where are you?". She muffled something back about the evelator being stuck. But, I needed to find her. Finally, I shouted: "What address? What building are you in?" And sure enough, she was in my building (our elevator does get a little sketchy from time to time), and I put two and two together, and recognized her voice right away as my downstairs neighbor. The elevator got stuck, but she was not inside of it, rather in the basement doing laundry, and came out the basement doors to a back patio area to call for help. I called our Super, who was 4 blocks away, had him come down to get her, informed her of what I did, and called it a night.

What I learned: Again with the address, and a non-traditional word. The main point of her message was that she was trapped in a building and needed to be found. Calling "Help! Help!" yeilded nothing from anyone for several minutes. And there are a lot of people around her in buildings. Using unexpected words, like "elevator" is what called my attention.

Overall Takeaway: Think extra carefully about your audience. What are they doing at the moment you are sending them a marketing message? Are you emailing on a holiday? Are you emailing during a dead-zone of time? Are you Twittering a very important message about your new earrings that are for sale during a flurry of live Tweeting about the Presidential Debates? Are you bragging about your product, but forgetting to include your URL? Are you selling something niche online and want to improve your SEO, but not using that niche word anywhere in your copy because it is so obvious to you, but if you don't say it, Google will have no idea that you specialize in this?

So. Think about your audience and what appeals to them at that moment. And don't forget to make it very clear on how to reach you. :)