Mia Bella Soaps and Candles

I've recently added Mia Bella Pie Candles and Mia Bella Soy Soap Bars to the product line. Soon, I'll be adding votives as well.

Mia Bella soy candles burn much cleaner than parafin wax candles. They also have lead-free wicks and smell amazing.

Once I have them listed, I'll be listing the Lia Sophia jewelry as well as the rest of the Cookie Lee Jewelry that I have. I'm too late for Mother's Day, but oh well. I'll make it in time for Christmas :D

I also have a lot of noname jewelry sets that I'll be listing. Some very pretty sets for sure. OK, not sure how many of those will make it into my store ;)

Have a great evening!
Christi

Thank you for visiting!
SQUIDOO...TWITTER...BLOGSPOT...MYSPACE...FACEBOOK

Anti-Virus Programs Uninstalls

Watch out if you are uninstalling a virus program. If your system acts funny, chances are that you need an additional uninstall file.

I know that Windows Live One Care and Norton Systemworks both need additional files to fully uninstall.

Thank you for visiting!
SQUIDOO...TWITTER...BLOGSPOT...MYSPACE...FACEBOOK

Forums - Which ones to join and why.

As I sit here thinking about how much time I just spent posting on forums, I must also ask myself if I really thought it helped my business.

It's nice to feel as though we belong and fit into a group. It's also easy to get comfortable interracting with the same people.

When I started selling online, I had so many questions. I needed to know where to sell and which sites had what I was interested in. I joined some selling forums to interract with other sellers and get the information I needed.

Once I decided on a site, I began to post in the site forum to gain knowledge about my store and new features that came out. However, once I figured out where to sell, I should've started minimizing my time spent at the selling forums. I should've transitioned to forums where I'd attract buyers instead of other sellers.

Of course, it does depend on who my buyers are. If I create templates and do custom work for other sellers, I should continue to participate in selling forums. However, my customers typically won't be other sellers. Many of them make their own candles, bath products and jewelry. They are looking to make money online versus spending it at my store.

So, where should I spend time? I'd still spend some of it where I have my store checking in for new options and codes. However, most of my time should be spent at forums that allow me to reach my customers.

I've found forums that are female oriented. The only problem is that they don't allow banners in signatures. Mostly all of them want you to participate in their forum, promoting their advertising without being able to advertise anything for yourself. Is that fair? I don't think so.

So the next time you want to spend time promoting your store, think about where your buyers are. Reach out to them whereever they are. Break out of your comfort zone and try new forums.

Thank you for visiting!
SQUIDOO...TWITTER...BLOGSPOT...MYSPACE...FACEBOOK

Malware Issues on April Fools

Well, It seems like eveything is still going smooth.

My computer had an issue, but it was my own fault. I had downloaded a couple free screensavers off of the internet, and one had some malware in it. Not too bad, but the darn thing kept rerouting me to other internet pages. Ugh.

System is fine now. I tried Malwarebytes, but that didn't find the cause. It found some registry entries, which just return when you restart the system. I had to restore my system back to an earlier point and once I could work on it, I downloaded Ad-Aware. That actually found the root problems, which was a free screensaver I installed.

What I learned from this:

*Never install any screensavers from Screensaver.com
*Never install any screensavers from Freeze or anything from Apple Blossom Art
*Only install programs from trusted sources like CNET.com
*If something is free, there is usually something attached to it making the source money.
*Microsoft One Care cannot find Malware or Adware
*Therefore, install Ad-Aware as it's free and seems to find the culprits causing problems.
Here's the link: http://download.cnet.com/Ad-Aware-Anniversary-Edition/3000-8022_4-10045910.html?tag=mncol;pop
*Be sure to check installed programs under the control panel, then, add and remove. You'll be amazed to find all of the toolbars left from applications.
*Adware is a program that tracks what you do and sends over your stats to vendors. You don't notice these much, and they aren't much harm to your computer.
*Malware is a program that actually forwards your browser to other affiliate pages. For example, you click on a news link and are rediracted to a pet store. These are a bit more troubling if you don't take care of them right away. The reason is that they stop your computer from accessing Window's Updates and virus protection. They don't affect other computers (unless you share the infected programs), but are just a pain. It wouldn't have been so bad, but I didn't like that it messed with my firewall and such.
*Viruses actually use computers to spread (like a cold) and severely affect a computer's operating ability.Well, hopefully, you were able to pick up some useful information from my last 2 days of research. Thanks,Christi

Thank you for visiting!
SQUIDOO...TWITTER...BLOGSPOT...MYSPACE...FACEBOOK