Author: Amber Ludwig-Vilhauer

Do You Hold Back to Protect Yourself?

by Amber Ludwig-Vilhauer Leave a comment

I read a really good blog post last week, and it inspired the heck out of me. I HAD to share it with you….

Christine Cress is the name of the leadership coach who wrote this amazingly insightful blog post titled “Was He Ever Invested?“

You really, truly, should make time to read this…

In the post, Christine shares a story about her tween son who had a summertime mentor/friend. This young man is a college student who comes to work on ‘special projects’ with him. (Amazing idea, parents!)

Two weeks into this fast-forming and fulfilling relationship, Christine’s son excitedly asked her if […]

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How to Deal with the Loneliness of Being an Online Entrepreneur

by Amber Ludwig-Vilhauer 1 Comment

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes feel discouraged or confused – looking for indicators I’m on the right track.

Yesterday I was sitting on my back porch thinking about how my business has never been better. Our team is thriving and loving the work. Our clients are thrilled at our performance and hiring us for more projects. We are up 40% over our best year ever.

Yet, I found myself looking inward and looking for validation that I’m on the right track.

You know those times?

Nothing was wrong. I was just searching for encouragement.
(Oh we humans are funny creatures…)

Being an online […]

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Authentic Leadership: Leaders Aren’t Born, They Are Made

by Amber Ludwig-Vilhauer Leave a comment

A good quote and reminder for you:

“Leaders aren’t born they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.”
~ Vince Lombardi

As we march the sometimes lonely solopreneur journey to business success, there is suffering and doubt marching by our sides. We wonder if we really have what it takes to make our dreams and goals a reality.

You do have what it takes…

You have a great responsibility…

People ARE watching and listening to you (even when you are convinced otherwise).

Authentic Leadership is something […]

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Authentic Leader Webcast Episode #23: What is a Hashtag and How Do I Use Hashtags?

by Amber Ludwig-Vilhauer Leave a comment
how-to-use-hashtags

When I first started out in the amazing world of social media I had no freaking clue what a “hashtag” was!! I wondered if I had to go somewhere to register this so called hashtag, why anyone would use it, and why they were so dang popular.

So I dug in all those years ago and as it turns out….its SO EASY!!

In this video you’ll learn:

What a hashtag is
How to create a hashtag
Which social networks use hashtags
How to search hashtags and join specific conversations
Why you’d want to use hashtags for special events
and sooo much more!

I get super specific so you’ll learn […]

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WordPress Security Risks!

by Amber Ludwig-Vilhauer Leave a comment
wp-security-risks

Welp, hackers are at it again! Very recently multiple WordPress Plugins became vulnerable to attacks and the issue has been escalated to WordPress developers to make a global upgrade available ASAP.

I just had someone contact me who had 3 of her sites hacked yesterday.

Some of the most popular plugins that have been affected include:

Jetpack
Google Analytics by Yoast
All In one SEO
Gravity Forms
WPTouch
…among many others

You can read more about the security threat here >>  (warning: very techy article)

Now what?

Step 1. Scan your site to see if your site has been hacked.

Step 2. Upgrade your WordPress site and all plugins […]

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Google Search Engine Ranking Changes!

by Amber Ludwig-Vilhauer Leave a comment
google-logo

Welp, Google is at it again! You may have heard that Google is changing their algorithm to benefit websites that are mobile friendly and punish those that are not.

That means if your website does NOT pass the mobile friendly test, then your pages will get ranked lower in Google’s search engine and it will be much harder for you to get natural organic traffic on your site. (Yikes!!)

Today, that change was officially made so soon we’ll start see that shift in page rank for sites across the board.

Feel free to read Google’s FAQ page about this change >>

Now […]

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3 Quick Productivity Reminders to Stay on Your A Game

by Amber Ludwig-Vilhauer Leave a comment
productivity-reminders

The demands on an entrepreneur are at an all time high and the intensity is only rising. To-do lists are getting longer and customers expect results faster which means you are being forced to manage your time – every minute of it – otherwise your business will crumble.

If you want to stay on top of your A game, these are some helpful tips:

My highest productivity tip is to “get it done in the moment.“If a task comes in that takes me less than 5 minutes, I immediately knock it out. That could be an email request of someone needing a […]

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Q&A: How Much Free Content Should You Give Before Asking for the Sale?

by Amber Ludwig-Vilhauer Leave a comment
tom-rubens

Tom Rubens, www.theaccountabilityfactor.com, submitted a question for the “Ask Amber” Podcast asking what is a good balance between giving away valuable free content, versus when it’s best to ask for the sale.

This is a great question that a lot of my coaching clients ask me. You definitely want to offer free content as a way of proving your value, showcasing your credibility/expertise/experience. But you also want to monetize and make sure you’re not just giving away the farm, right?

All of this is explained (with a detailed strategy plan) and more in this Authentic […]

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The 28 Best Tools and Resources for Your Online Business

by Amber Ludwig-Vilhauer Leave a comment
business-tools

As I weave in an out of projects, constantly throughout the day, I use many different tools and resources. I thought today I’d send you a list of some of my best ones. 🙂

Bookmark, save, print this email – it’ll be a great resource for you to look back on as you move your business forward!

In no particular order, these are my MUST-USE tools and resources!

Carbonite – It just takes one computer crash before you’ll get smarter and invest in a computer backup program. I’ve tried many, Carbonite is the best!
KeePass – No cost password organizer. […]

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Perfection is the Enemy of Progress!

by Amber Ludwig-Vilhauer 4 Comments

“Perfection is the Enemy of Progress!” Churchill said that and boy was he right!

I had a coaching call with a client last week He had awesome ideas and he had all the potential in the world, but his business was just inching along.

His website was half baked, he hadn’t gotten any paying customers yet and he was stuck in the “questioning stage” of his new online adventure.

What was the problem?

He wasn’t “ready” because he still felt a need to perfectly identify his exact target market, his exact marketing message, his perfect title, and his flawless coaching process.

The perfection myth is […]

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