I read this morning about Google's new concept for city community pages called City Pages. So far, they have four cities ready to roll:

• Portland, Oregon
• Austin, Texas
• San Diego, California
• Madison, Wisconsin

Why am I not a better manager of my own time? Yesterday, I spent the whole day working, and I barely made a dent. And then again, I feel like I made some progress.

Part of my problem is that I love what I do. I love how the Internet is constantly changing. To keep up with all the new trends and strategies, though, is a staggering endeavor. But it's exciting and fun too!

Today, I need to do less learning and more busywork. Truly, I wish I could spend my time learning, because how else am I to grow?

When I was a freshman in college, I was afraid to speak in public. Making that first round of introductions in the classroom was a very stressful experience. I actually dropped classes where making a presentation was part of the syllabus. But it didn't take long to see that getting up in front of the class was inevitable if I ever wanted to graduate, so I bit the bullet and faced my fear.

As they say, practice makes perfect... After awhile, speaking in public didn't feel so scary, and in time, I actually began to enjoy it!

Yesterday, I started my first class at #SMACAD. One of my assignments for next week is to create an introductory video to post on YouTube. Yikes! Unlike my younger years, I have no intention of dropping the class, because of my fear of videotaping myself for the world to see. No, I'm going to bite the bullet and make that video, and the funny thing is my fear is filled with excitement!

This afternoon, I received a Skype invitation from someone I do not know. Usually, I block those sorts of contacts, but lately I've started replying, "Who are you?" Most people don't reply back, so I block them.

This young man did reply back with a very good introduction that drew me into wanting to know more about what he was looking for. In his intro, he made it obvious that he had visited our website and did his research about Indigo, which impressed me. He's a graphic designer, so I referred him to Melissa. His foot is in the door, because I told him to use my name when he talks to her.

You see, it never hurts to try new approaches to old ideas, like cold calling, which we all hate!!

I'm sure more and more of us small business owners are using cold calling as a way to find new business. If you are looking to hone your cold calling skills, be sure to read 5 ways to overcome cold call reluctance — and if you're creative, try something a bit out of the box like the young man this afternoon. You might be pleasantly surprised by the results!!