4urWorld

I have decided to write a series of posts about how it can be a small world.  It has proven to me time and time again, that no matter how big the world is, sometimes it is rather small.

I have sold a few things on Ebay, since closing my retail store about 3 years ago.  I had some inventory left over that I listed on this auction site.  I had put some sandals on Ebay that someone that lived in Pennsylvania, ended up buying.  Transaction was made and I shipped out the sandals.  A few days after sending the sandals, I get an email from the buyer.  I guess she saw where I was from and realized I lived 20 miles from her hometown of McLean Texas.  She also realized by my last name, I might be married to someone she had gone to school with in McLean.  The first sentence of her email was, “Do you know Mark Caldwell”. 

Another example of “Wow, it’s a small world”.  Especially when you are selling Iddi Biddi Tiddies on Ebay.  Maybe I should say “Wow, it’s an Iddi Biddi World”.

Iddi Biddi Tiddies

I don’t mean to complain, but I cannot even go to town and go into a store that someone doesn’t come up to me and ask me one of two questions. It is either:

“Hey I have been meaning to call you, how much will you charge me to paint signs for the craft fest, or how much will you charge to paint a mural on my daughters door or wall”? What? I don’t want to! I do have a life. And believe you me, when they ask this, most of them are intending to get it for free. Hmmm I figure if you are having a craft fest, there might be some crafty people that would want to donate their time and painting ability, and I don’t even want to take the time to paint my walls in my house, why should I want to come and create something on yours? (Sorry I am in that bitchy mood again.)

Okay now for the other question I get when I venture into the public, of a small town. “What have you been doing with yourself”? Well do you think they really want to know, or would even understand what I am doing? To them it would probably seem like I am sitting at home being lazy and playing on the computer. I just reply a simple “Oh nothing, just sitting at home”. So much easier than explaining to them that I am blogging, trying to learn internet marketing, and I am very proud of the accomplishments I have made in my journey, yet 90% of this town probably doesn’t even know what a blog is, much less how it could benefit me in any way. What do I care anyway, what they think I am doing? Let them wonder, if they even really care. Sometimes I want to make up some wild and crazy story about what I’m doing. Just to shut them up, or make them talk about me more.

Call me non-social, whatever, but I avoid going into this small town, if at all possible. I told my husband he has to do the grocery shopping, I ain’t going in that store anymore, every time I do, seems like I leave with someone expecting me to create something. Maybe I created my own reputation, with this painting stuff, because when I owned my gift shop, I was always painting my display window. But hey that was for me. I am not wasting the precious time that I so dearly treasure, to help someone else. They probably expect me to do it for free, or at a very low price, just because we’ve known each other forever.

I am the one you see in the stores going down an aisle; I have no need to go down, just to avoid the other people in the store. My husband, is just the opposite, he is the one who will find an old friend in each aisle and talk to them about the weather, old times, whatever, for 20-30 minutes.

Just to let you know, several years in a row, I designed the t-shirt logo, for the St Patrick’s Day Celebrations, free of charge. Guess what? I always had to pay for a t-shirt. WTF ! You would think the least they could do is give me a free shirt for the work I did.

Oh the Joys of Small Town!

Oh by the way, my kids in college have no clue what Twitter is or what it does. They are so far behind the times, lol, “I am so much cooler than my kids”. Or maybe it is “I am so much geekier than my kids”!

You know maybe they should get whoever painted this sign, to paint the signs for the craft fest.

Like I said I am in a really bitchy mood since going grocery shopping. Sorry!

Yes I Said Passion !

Passion: a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything.

I went shopping yesterday and bought myself something that really excites me. I can get lost in this and it takes me to a different place in my imagination. I can escape everything else and totally get creative.

Most women, when they go shopping, get excited about a new pair of shoes, a new dress, or piece of jewelry to accessorize their outfit. Well not for me, at least not yesterday. I was not in the mood to go to the mall and shop for these things, I was in the mood to buy something that fulfills my deepest desire. I went to the store that specializes in my passion and now I am ready to get creative. Below is a picture of what I bought.

The thing about these colored pencils, is that they are so smooth when you use them, they blend very well and make an excellent tool for sketching. You can actually purchase these products and products like them at ArtCity, Inc.

I want to tell you about the people who made the greatest impact on my experience at the Affiliate Summit. These people have been in the industry and are truly dedicated to affiliate marketing and are willing to share their knowledge and help in every way.

These are in no particular order because I just couldn’t possible put one above the rest.

1. Carolyn Tang - ShareASale.com. Carolyn is so sweet; she is very personable and so beautiful. I have never seen her without a smile on her face. She is such a positive person. She is everyone’s favorite affiliate manager. Carolyn not only represents ShareASale in a professional manner, she represents them in a personal manner. Which shows this company knows what it takes to build relationships with their customer and merchants. Carolyn has encouraged me in many ways and is what I consider a very good friend. She adds the personal touch to the business. Carolyn summed up “sweet, personable, happy, she also has a passion for the industry, she is willing to help in many ways rather it is business, or even giving encouragement on a personal level, she is a woman of ethics, and I believe she is the most optimistic person I have ever met, she is a “Strong Woman” in the industry”.

2. Jesse Bouman - 1and1.com. Talk about Charming, Jesse could make anyone feel like they are the most important person in the room as he is talking to you. He could sell me anything, but he wouldn’t do it, because he has ethics. If he doesn’t totally believe in something he would be the first to tell you. Jesse loves what he is doing; therefore selling it just comes natural. He takes his work seriously and would help anyone with any problems they have with their affiliate marketing, Jesse has given me several excellent tips on making my site better. Jesse summed up “fun, charming, happy, has a passion for the industry, willing to help, a man of ethics, and the life of the party.”

3. Sam Harrelson - Costpernews.com, geekcast.fm, SamHarrelson.com and many other sites. Sam is one of my favorite bloggers and twitterers ((or is it twitters)) (is that the correct form of the word, inquiring minds want to know). Sam is what I consider to be a deep thinker, yet a man with a sense of humor. Sam is a leader in the belief of social networking and its power in affiliate marketing. I have learned a lot by following Sam on his many sites and podcast. Sam is a teacher; he is willing to help others in the affiliate marketing industry. I can picture Sam’s face on the famous statue of “The Thinker”. Sam summed up: “He loves his family; he is educated; opinionated; stands up for what he believes in, yet he adds just the right touch of “sense of humor” that it makes, what he takes serious, a fun thing; willing to help; a man of ethics; someone everyone should get to know”.

4. Jim Kukral - Scratchback.com. Thedailyflip.com, JimKukral.com, and many other sites also. Jim is the man with the voice, such a strong emcee voice. Jim has made me laugh with his youtube videos on awesomemillion. Jim is a man I haven’t gotten to know very well, except for listening to him on geekcast.fm. Jim is innovative, very interesting, and a family man. Jim has a sense of humor, and is a man thinking outside of the box all the time. I have a feeling nobody tells Jim what to do. Jim summed up: “Very vocal, who couldn’t be with that awesome voice; he does what he loves; whether it is wearing man sandals or playing a ukulele; he loves videos, and knows they are the coming thing in the online marketing future; he is a teacher in the industry, sharing his knowledge; a family man first above all else; a man of ethics, and someone I want to get to know better”

5. Lisa Picarille - Lisa is the Editor of Revenuetoday.com, Revenue magazine an online and physically published magazine that I look forward to reading every time I receive it in the mail, or online. Lisa is a very lovely woman. Lisa is a woman I have total respect for (especially having to deal with Shawn, Jim, and Sam on the Geekcast.fm podcast, they really can give her a hard time sometimes, and she takes it in stride). Lisa is a woman who knows what she is talking about. Lisa has an excellent speaking presence, she speaks with authority, yet she has an open mind and is willing to listen to what anyone has to say, and she handles people with great tact. Lisa made me feel very comfortable and accepted at the Affiliate Summit and I appreciated that. Lisa summed up: “Intelligent, strong speaking voice, respected by everyone in the industry, opinionated, independent, yet open minded, friendly, willing to share her knowledge to those who are willing to learn, she is very ethical and someone I consider to be among the great “Strong Women” in the industry” “You go Girl”!

6. Amy Rodriguez - Amy is who I consider to be the quite one of the Affiliate Summit, she is the one that works behind the scenes to make sure the whole Affiliate Summit works as it should. Amy is a hard worker, and a wonderful mother. I loved hearing her talk about her little boy and how she missed him, and how her older daughter was helping take care of him while she was away, and sent her updates, with messages and pictures of her son. She always has a smile on her face. One of the new attendees who is from overseas said that Amy helped him in his process of getting his Visa or Passport, and was truly grateful to her for her assistance. Amy Summed up ” Sweet, hard working, grounded, a great person who loves her family above all else, she is a very ethical person and is someone who I believe needs a standing ovation for her hard work, Amy is a very “Strong Woman” in the affiliate marketing industry”.

7. Ian Fernando - ianfernando.com, and many other sites. Ian is an up and coming blogger and marketer that is taking the affiliate marketing world by storm. Ian is intelligent, young, innovative and willing to help. Man is he willing to help! Ian mentored 3 different new attendees officially, and many others, Ian was a speaker at the Summit; he had just gotten home from “Top Affiliate Challenge”, and then arranged a dinner for like-minded entrepreneurs. I know Ian had to be exhausted after the Summit, but he is one who loves what he does. He is experimenting in every area of affiliate marketing, and is definitely going to be a success. Ian summed up: “energetic, innovative, young, entrepreneur, willing to try anything new in the industry, he is passionate about what he is doing, willing to teach, friendly, an organizer with new ideas, and an ethical person who is doing it the right way” I predict he will be a Giant Success!

8. Kim Rowley - kimarketing.com, workinmypajamas.com, houseofkim.com and many others. Kim is my inspiration; she makes me realize “I Can Do It”. She is always happy, and very friendly. I can tell Kim loves to have a good time. The first time I met her was at Affiliate Summit 2007 West in Las Vegas. I felt like I already knew her because of the article that Lisa Picarille had put in Revenue Magazine about Kim. Kim was so friendly and I would have loved to have stayed and visited with her the very first time I met her, but I had to go take care of some personal stuff happening with my daughter at home, (my daugher had got her car broken into and I had to make some phone calls during the summit to businesses and the police dept. etc) Kim is a single mother of 4 children and makes a very successful living at affiliate marketing. She actually lives in a small town just like mine in the middle of nowhere. I am proud of Kim for making a success of herself and supporting her kids. Kim was the 1^st to include me in things this time at the Summit always saying “Come sit with us” etc. Thank you Kim, you made me feel welcome. Kim summed up: “A survivor, she loves her family, she is beautiful, she has a good attitude and loves to have fun, she encourages people (like me), she loves what she does, and does a Great job at it, I admire Kim enormously, she is also a very ethical person and I consider her another of the “Strong Women” of the industry”. Thank You Kim!!!

9. Shawn Collins - AffiliateSummit.com , Affiliatetip.com and many many more websites. Shawn is the cofounder of Affiliate Summit. Shawn is the backbone of the whole thing; he is a very energetic man, who has an enormous passion for what he does. The most down to earth person, who is so easy to approach, he gives many chances to those of us who want to learn. I admire Shawn so much; he has helped me more than anybody. I think one day I made a Tweet on Twitter, about giving up on this affiliate stuff, I felt like I was going nowhere. It was only seconds before I got a tweet back encouraging me not to give up. Shawn went out of his way to find someway for me to stay involved. If there is anyone that I owe for any success that might come from this, it would be Shawn. Shawn summed up: “My hero, my mentor, a man who truly loves what he does, approachable, down to earth, open minded, friendly, up for suggestions, a family man, a GIANT leader in the industry, energetic, amazing, has a great sense of humor, very willing to help everyone stay involved, he believes in this industry, Shawn is a very ethical man and isn’t afraid to speak up about his opinions, he is for the small affiliate and will fight for each of us” Thank You Shawn!!!

10. Missy Ward - Last but not least!! Missy’s site is missyward.com , Affiliatesummit.com and other sites. Missy is cofounder of Affiliate Summit. Missy is an amazing woman, she is beautiful, she adds sex appeal to the Summit, along with an approachable charm, she always has a big smile on her face, and she likes to have fun. She is a mother and a wife who loves her family. She is an advocate for “Affiliate Marketers Give Back” and participates in the walk for life against breast cancer. A very giving person, I admire Missy so much, I cannot imagine the preparation that goes into putting on an event like the Summit, but she does it with grace and charm. I listened to a podcast that her and Shawn did before the summit and I could tell she is a very sweet person. Missy does some awesome and sometimes humorous videos. She is also very open to suggestions to make an already perfect event even better. Missy summed up: “Energetic, charming, happy, loves family, very sweet, charismatic, giving, open for suggestion, loves the industry, willing to share her knowledge and help others, loves to have fun, a great organizer, a very ethical and an all around great person, I consider her to be a very “Strong Woman” in the industry also. Thank You Missy”!

These are only a few of the Great People that I got to meet, I cannot mention how many other people at the Summit made a great impact on me. I will save that for future posts. There are so many giving, ethical people who love the industry. The ones I mentioned above made the greatest impact on me and my experience at the Summit.

Thank you all for letting me be a part of it.

disclaimer: The above comments are totally my opinion, I hope I didn’t offend anyone and I hope I didn’t leave any awesome character trait, of these people, out of my post. I am still in the process of getting to really know these people. Like I said these are in NO particular order, they are all awesome people.

4UrWorld Mugshot on EcoMugs.

Green products are an economical and easy way to do your part in stopping global warming. Over time, Eco Mugs developed systems that enable them to create and ship single mugs in an economical fashion, all personalized with your logo and customers name.

I met Kirk Meyer, Founder of Eco Mugs, through the Mentor program for Affiliate Summit.  Kirk had my logo put on a couple of mugs and sent them to me, in appreciation for heading up the Mentor program. 

My daughter, Cari Caldwell, designed my logo, and is in the picture with me holding up the Eco Mugs.  I am so proud of the job Cari did, and the mugs that Kirk sent me.   

Cari Caldwell Designed Logo for Mug