Daphne Cochran-Shapiro » Business

Designing, Disney, and Driving

Daphne — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:25:15 +0000

Its been an incredibly busy time over the past couple of months!!

The holiday rush, three trips out of town to work at Disney in Orlando, a family illness, and dealing with upheavals in my children’s lives are only the tip of the iceberg.

Between all that, I’ve also done quite a lot of posting at my fantasy literature site, ImagineDome. In addition to the posts, I’ve also created a genealogy section using phpGedView, the Genealogy Compendium, to trace the family lineages in the fantasy books I’ve posted about. And, to spark my writing muse, I took the plunge and installed the Xoops and Yogurt CMS platforms to create the Writers Dome, an online community for writers.

The learning curve has been extremely steep considering all the new stuff I’ve been cramming into my mind!

I’ve got two or three other projects that I’ve been brainstorming on….but announcements and updates on those will have to wait till they evolve a bit more.

When I can sneak in some leisure time (not too too often! hah!), I have entered the strange world of golfing…that’s because I bought my hubby a new Xbox360 for Christmas and, since he loves golf, I bought him the Tiger Woods ’07 golf game. I haven’t played too shabby (my drives down the fairway are rather inconsistent), and have even managed 3 holes in one! Yeah!

My Christmas gift turned out to be a Casio electronic keyboard (woohoo!), which I’ve been puttering with in conjunction with using Magix Music Maker. As a passionate music lover, I particularly enjoy composing new tunes, though I’ve yet to learn how to master the tracks.

Lastly, but certainly not least, I’ve re-committed myself to my SparkPeople weight loss and fitness plans. So, in the mornings you can find me hanging in there as user DaphneCS. Hubby and I have had some good tennis sessions and have begun to take walks again. Next is the possibility of getting into P90X….but that’s something I’m still contemplating.

There you go—the latest and greatest from my neck of the woods! I haven’t disappeared by any means, just been a busy, busy lady. And all this right before I turn the big 5-0 birthday on 2/10!! Wowsers!

I hope all is going well with you in your world and that the days are full of peace and joy—

Daphne Cochran-Shapiro is an Author & Poet, Designer & Crafter, and Entrepreneur who specializes in working with folks needing design assistance. My goal is to empower you to be the best you can be in ALL your endeavors. I invite you to browse my sites and share your comments on my works!

New Twitter Landing Page!

Daphne — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:31:35 +0000

Good day!

Just a quick FYI that I’ve created a new Twitter Landing Page at MLM Realms.

Be sure to stop by and check it out HERE!

If you aren’t following me yet on Twitter, head over to my Twitter profile at
DaphneCS.

Have a good one and I hope to follow your tweets!

Considering using PHPLIST?

Daphne — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:37:34 +0000

A friend of mine asked me last week to help her out with a mailing list program called “phplist” — a newsletter/list management software progam (and also the WordPress plugin that she wants to use). So, I found the website for it ( http://www.phplist.com ) and began learning what it is, how it works and so on. After a bit of reading, I decided that the best way to help her was to go ahead and install it myself and begin using it for my own newsletter list. I’ve got the plugin installed, but still tweaking the design, though it seems to be working (I might need to do more testing with it).

I’m posting about my progress and experience (in case any other ladies decide
they also want to start using it *smile*) at the MLM Realms W.I.S.E. Community Forum.

Read my progress posts to date…

p.s. If you use it already and want to share YOUR experiences, please feel free to jump in to the discussion!

Get Your Own Custom Twitter Feed!

Daphne — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 17:13:13 +0000

On DreamPress Templates I wanted to add a feed from Twitter on my main index page, but I didn’t want to use those widgets offered by Twitter (too wide, too typical, too uncustomizable). So, putting on my “Daphne Detective Hat” I scouted around the web pondering what could work and look good at the same time.

As most of you know it takes time to look for that particular widget or tool or code that perfectly suits what you want. I was almost at the point of settling for something that I’d tolerate when I stumbled upon this tutorial by Benjamin Reid.

What his tutorial is about is a way to use a javascript file and css coding to add the Twitter feed on whatever page you want it on. The tutorial is detailed and easy to follow (in case you aren’t a certified coding guru). He’s even got screenshot of what’s what and what goes where. You add the coding for the javascript, the css styles, and the html on the page where you want the feed.

You’ll also have to upload the javascript file to your web server. He explains how to ensure your link to the javascript file works and how to insert the bit of code to pull your Twitter posts.

You can then customize the css style coding to whatever color, size, padding, font, etc. you want to match the look of your site. Just test it locally to view each of the changes you make before uploading that page. One thing I didn’t get right the first time was where I inserted the javascript coding. Initially, I stuck it above the body tag, then when it didn’t work went back to the tutorial and realized it went above the closing body tag. *insert forehead smack*

Here’s a screenshot of what I put together at DreamPress Templates:

Pretty cool, huh?

Give it a whirl and feel free to comment your link so I can visit and see how you’ve customized your very own Twitter feed.

Happy coding!

Thinking of Starting Your Own Business?

Daphne — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 15:20:46 +0000

When considering owning your own business, you first need to ask yourself some basic questions:

Do I have a passionate desire to have my own business?
Do I want 100% of the responsibility and the decision-making?
Am I willing to commit myself to my business by working hard?
Do I have the confidence and discipline to make my business successful?
Do I have an entreprenuerial spirit?

Starting a new business is a life-altering event and can be likened to a marriage. It takes commitment and desire; you’ll be tied to your business 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Just like in marriage it will take work and will have highs and lows. But if you can answer those questions with a certain and resounding “Yes!” then starting your own business can be an intensely satisfying and rewarding adventure.

Once you’ve decided that you really do want to start your own business and have decided on what type of business you want, its time to start gaining knowledge and information about being in business. There is a learning curve you’ll need to go through in order to get started! Some areas you’ll want to focus on are: industry knowledge, administrative and organization processes, money management, creating a business plan, marketing, and time management. Acquiring this knowledge beforehand is immensely helpful to making your business a success.

Many women have their own successful business; you can, too! Take your passion and your innate talents, mix in learning and development, and you’ll shape your business into an enjoyable and profitable life adventure!

To Your Success,