Moms Network

2. Do NOT hop onto chat and announce your business special or business opportunity to someone who happens to be online.  This will literally get you nowhere.  I cannot tell you the number of times that I open up chat and within a matter of 10 – 30 seconds, someone that I have never had any sort of conversation with, pops up, without even a greeting, and blasts off their ad to me.  Not only am I not interested, but I typically go in and un-friend them to avoid any further spamming.

3. Do NOT send someone a message via their inbox that is an ad, especially again, if you have not had any previous one on one interaction with them.  This is a big turn off and will make you look like a spammer, and could in fact have your message being reported to Facebook as spam.

4. Do NOT send out invites for your events to everyone of your friends.  Take the time to create different friend lists and use those lists to weed out who should be invited.  If you have an event going on in California, it is most likely that someone from Michigan will not have any inkling of attending.

5. Do NOT be vulgar or sexual. Watch the type of language, conversations and pictures that you post on Facebook.  Facebook is not the place to be vulgar or sexual in your words or actions.  It can and will be a big turn off to many that you hope to network and do business with.  If you are a person whose business is family and children’s products or services, but yet you talk like a trucker on Facebook, you will do yourself more harm than good, and not reap the benefits, customers or traffic that you could.

There are numerous ways to successfully use Facebook for your business, but you need to make sure you take the time and do it correctly. By following our "Do NOT do this on Facebook" rules above, you will have a good start on getting your business noticed the right way.

A trap that many entrepreneurs fall into is thinking that they cannot learn from someone who hasn’t been around the block, so to speak. They tend to feel superior in their knowledge and that they have already cut their teeth on all that a home business owner needs to know. Sometimes those who are just venturing out have more to teach us than the seasoned veterans. The biggest mistake is thinking that they can’t. You have the opportunity to view issues and solutions through a new set of eyes, less jaded than yours may have become. These freshman business owners bring to the table new experiences and a different outlook on certain aspects of running a business. They have possibly been given new tools to utilize in running a home based business or new concepts to embrace. New entrepreneurs have more to offer than many experienced business owners give them credit for.

So, if you are at the point of feeling a little weary in your business, try to hook up with a new business owner. Gain a fresh perspective, hear some new ideas and let some of their excitement rub off and rejuvenate your spirit.