Tip: Check out Costco Executive Membership for business supplies and services.

I wish I thought of Costco sooner. I tried to print my own business checks – BAD IDEA. I almost ordered them from somewhere else for almost twice as much – BAD IDEA. You get free shipping for online orders.

There are a lot of costs when you start a new business.

Check out:

• Business checks that are Quickbooks compatible. 500 for under $40. For $25 more get your logo on them. They also do personal checks.
• Fax service like Efax for $8 a month for up to 325 faxes (and 4 cents each after). Or, check out FaxPipe (call (888) 530-9100. Tell them Janet sent you). FaxPipe has the same service, same price, but for 1000 faxes.
• VoIP phone systems with virtual assistants that can route calls, forward them, play after hours greetings, etc.

Costco has good customer service. No call center agents in India (I'm sour because my bad experiences lately). Learn from my mistakes, use Costco.

If it's Costco Executive Membership hours you're after, find your state here. 

I'm glad I didn't think too long and hard about quitting my job. It was the right timing and a good choice for me. However, it's not a kickback life. But I LOVE IT.

I spend a lot of my time laying a foundation. Working on designs, accounting, setting up bank accounts, talking to the IRS…you get the idea. There's a learning curve for most of it.

I don't have the luxury of developing a web site right off. I buy the domain, set up the servers, etc. (I miss IT support). But nothing needs approval from anyone.

Small details eat my time. I signed up for eFax (bad customer service from India). Thinking of AirComm instead (don't judge them by their web site, the customer service is great). I don't have my VoIP phone yet, so I have to print something, scan it, and email it. Kinko's motivated me to hurry after I paid $8 to fax 5 pages. Plus a drive and the wait.

I've had to get more organized. A binder for ebooks, for CDs/help manuals, and for business cards and papers.

When I recommend people or services it's based on my experience. It costs a lot of time and it costs to make a bad choice and have to redo something.

I enjoy writing. I often read everything I can then think things over. Then I write in one quick gush. Then edit. And edit again.

I love to blog whenever I feel like it. I love spending time more time with my son. It's still a leap of faith. Yet I have security knowing that I'm shaping my own path. Luckily, Affiliate Marketing requires less infrastructure than most businesses.

I listen to NPR and want to get involved in politics and other things. Right now both feet are on the ground. But I look up at the sky a lot more often.

I'm fascinated with this list of useful online tools and web sites from PC World Magazine. Some of it I know about but there is a lot I didn't.

This article covers everything from Sharpmail – a service to send an anonymous email (tell your boss what you really thought of that great idea) to Bubbler, a multiple blog posting tool. It even mentions affiliate marketing.

Also read about it on "In an Uncertain World" blog.

"Affiliate programs: Many online merchants depend on networks of affiliate sites to move product. Affiliate aggregators like LinkShare or Commission Junction let you pick from hundreds of affiliate advertisers, some offering commissions as high as 40 percent."

Another quote on affiliate marketing: "One of the best ways to market your product is to have OTHERS sell it for you." I plan to put as many definitions of affiliate marketing on my blog as I find or think of. I hope this doesn't bother you but people don't automatically understand it as a business model. I'm trying to find the most elegant ways to explain it.

I'll add my own tool to the list. The Firefox Adsense Preview. It helps you preview different sizes and kinds of Google Ads. You get a popup window that you can put over your site to get an idea of how the Adsense block fits. I hoped it was a transparent overlay, but it's still useful.

Haven’t you always wanted to buy your own affiliate marketing company?

AffiliateAnnouncement is for sale on Ebay. The minimum bid is $25K but the reserve is $100K. They submit affiliate programs to several different affiliate networks at once. They also help with program promotion and advertising.

Read the Press Release about AffiliateAnnouncement on emediawire.

When I checked there was one bid. The listing all the sites they own, the page ranks, the revenue (but not traffic) and the company history. 

www.AffiliateAnnouncement.com

Bidding until June 17th. I’m curious how this will go. I’ve never seen anything like this. I’ll report back the end bid should it meet the reserve price.

Why would a company like this sell on Ebay? It seems too sketchy. Not enough details, or proof. There are professionals who sell businesses. This seems like a do-it-yourself job. All I can think is I hope the buyer has a good attorney.
It’s funny that the press release touts that it’s a 6-year old company as if that is news. And it is. Lesson learned: pioneers quickly become dinosaurs online if they don’t adapt. What they offer is mostly obsolete.

Bloghead: adj. Someone with attitude because of their blog, whose blog has gone to their head. Someone with blogs for a living or who has way too much time to blog.

A person who composes blog entries in their head or in their sleep whenever they hear something interesting. Bloghead's friends are afraid something they say may end up on a blog post.

In a sentence: Once he made the Technorati Top 100, he became a bloghead.

Related words: e-big head, e-arrogant, e-conceited

I wanted to hear Brad Fallon speak at the InternetMarketingSuperConference on Sunday. Something came up and I'm kicking myself now. Brad runs MyWeddingFavors and everyone told me he was a great speaker. I wish they had a schedule of speakers and the times online or emailed to you upon signup.

I think I could be comforted if I can go to the MarketingSherpa's How to Create a Microsite for Lead Generation Conference in San Fransisco in November.

Also looking forward to Commission Junction University (CJU) in September in California.

Am I becoming a conference junkie? I'm very passionate about the affiliate marketing industry. It's still a young There isn’t an internet marketing model I like more.