This past November, I said goodbye to my dear readers and wished everyone the best of luck here at Twolia. But today I’m here and very proud to announce that Diva Mogul is BACK!

Yes, I’ll be here at Twolia, once again, blogging 3 times a week. For now, expect to hear from me every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday about business & entrepreneurship.

Over the next few months, you’ll notice the blogs here at Twolia shifting more towards a female musician and artist focus. Diva Mogul fits into the new mix because it’s about business and enterprising women.

Is there anything pertaining to business or entrepreneurship that you would like to know? Any special topics you’d like me to cover here at Diva Mogul? Leave a comment or send an email…

It’s great to be back! See you Wednesday…

Queen Elizabeth II of England is real high spender. She knows how to live the high life. Here are a few highlights:

• A website relaunch and a full-time staff to run it: $662,302

• Jet setting and chartering commericial aircraft: $10.26 million

• Housekeeping costs: $496,000

• Food bills: $827,000

• And of course, she must have her garden parties: $661,000

• Staff and other expenditures: $13.09 million

• Security, police, army: unknown

Queen Elizabeth II of England and the royal family cost taxpayers $1.14 each last year. Royal costs incurred increased by over $2.4 million from the previous year for a total of $68.6 million.

Should England keep ‘em?

Apparently, living large is not the answer.

Nebraska’s conservative attitude towards money has paid off. MainStreet.com has rated the state, financially speaking, the happiest in the United States.

The Happiness Index is based on rates of unemployment, amount of foreclosures, and non-mortgage debt. Living large, the index shows, does not amount to happiness.

Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, and Hawaii are also considered among the happiest places in America. Rhode Island, California (*see below), Nevada, Florida & Oregon were rated the lowest due to the culture of people living beyond their means.

*Think: luxury vehicles, heavily mortgaged mansions, silicon, and The (not so) Real Housewives of Orange County. Watch them spend more money in an attempt to catch up! 

To read more about the Happiness Index, visit MainStreet.com.

With more companies firing that hiring, people everywhere are unleashing their inner entrepreneur in hopes of surviving the economic downturn.

The Theory of Entrepreneurial Evolution states that a person with a great idea, exceptional business plan, and unique marketing style can survive even the toughest of times.

It really is the survival of the fittest.

What are you doing in business that is exceptional and unique?

Find out what these women are doing to survive:

Tapping Business Skills That Already Exist
It wasn’t the economy, but culture shock that influenced Donna Young and her sister to start their (now successful) export/retail business.

Want to confirm that your idea is really as hot as you think?
Entrepreneurs bounce business ideas off bar crowds
Start pitching ideas and receiving feedback at unexpected places. If your idea turns out to not be so hot, it’s better to find out sooner rather than later.

I found this cartoon in the New Yorker a few weeks back and felt inclined to share it with the world.

What does this cartoon have to do with business and entrepreneurship? Everything.

So often, we stop short of living the life we’re capable of living (sounds cliché, I know)… We don’t believe in ourselves, think we’re incapable, or forget how powerful we are as humans and more specifically, as individuals. This especially rings true in times of crisis when everyone becomes panic stricken.

When there’s a will, there’s a way…You or your significant other may have just lost a job, but it doesn’t mean it’s the end of your career. On the contrary, your career is just beginning and it’s the perfect opportunity to do what YOU want to do this time around. Whether you’re looking at finding a new job, career, or starting a business you’ll soon realize that you’ll have to work harder than ever, but seize the opportunity and make sweet lemonade with bitter lemons.

Reach into your toolbox and tap into your inner wisdom… Sometimes the answer really is in front of your eyes or filed away in your mind. The guy in the cartoon is on an island waiting to be saved from adversity, while all this time, the power was within him. So many of us are finding ourselves in this situation these days and don’t realize that the power to succeed is ours.

Don’t wait until it’s too late to realize this… you might be missing huge opportunities.

First, let me start by telling you what you shouldn’t be doing when job hunting…

DON’T: HAND YOUR RESUME OUT IN INAPPROPRIATE PLACES
People are now using industry trade shows as job hunting grounds, a marketing manager confirmed the whisperings today.

There are several problems with this scenario:

• Companies pay big bucks for floor space in these trade shows. They are there to do business, for whatever reason, and see a return on their investment.

• If the floor is littered with job seekers, the company employees can’t do the job they were sent there to do.  This results in further budget issues for companies and…you guessed, possible layoffs. It’s a vicious cycle.

• Typically, the marketing department is involved in planning trade shows NOT human resources (your contact people). Chances are, resumes won’t make it out of the building, not to mention be allowed valuable luggage space on an airplane.

• Unwanted job seekers diminish the overall quality of the trade show and could potentially damage the reputation in future years. If a company couldn’t conduct business and measure its ROI, why would it want to return next year?

INSTEAD: Use the trade show to see what companies exist in the industry that interests you. The best thing to do is check if the trade show has a website and do your own research from home without stepping foot inside the trade show. But, if you must go, stay out of the way and let the companies do the business they showed up to do.

One of the biggest and least talked about news tragedy of this “economic downturn” is the hiatus of The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, one of best shows of all time for entrepreneurs. Deutsch features people who have taken their idea and made it big. The program we watch for dreams, inspiration, ideas, and great advice has unfortunately taken a hit in the ratings. Turns out, the show’s positive outlook isn’t quite as appealing as the doom and gloom stories have become these days.

While there won’t be any new material for an unspecified period of time, at least we can still catch a few of the older episodes online. In fact, while I was looking for something completely unrelated to yesterday’s blog post, I came across this video featuring none other than business extraordinaire Gary Vaynerchuk (he’s everywhere!) on The Big Idea. Watch and LEARN:

If anyone knows when The Big Idea will be back on with new shows, please let me be the first to know!

I did it, I did it! I didn’t cheat…not once!

>>How I feel: Superb. I didn’t read, worry, or discuss the economy in any negative way for an entire week. In fact, the topic was so far from my mind that I only just remembered that it time to discuss my experiences.

I thought I’d have more people bring up the state of our economy in social situations, but it really never came up. Surprisingly enough, it’s possible to survive socially without being “economically educated.” Listening to radio and TV news is impossible on this diet, however. I avoided NPR like the plague this past week.

>>Goals accomplished/Lessons Learned: When I began my Financial News Diet, which I should have really labeled a Fast, I had two goals in mind: peace of mind and business growth.

Did I accomplish my goals? I have complete peace of mind about the financial situation in the world because what I don’t know, I feel right now, can’t hurt me. When I listen to the news about bailouts, corporate greed, and bad spending my blood has a tendency to boil. I have free will. I can choose to read or not read along with my reaction.

Business-wise, I can’t say that I’ve noticed immediate business growth, but I wasn’t expecting this. Rather, business growth will be come as a result of me changing my state of mind and not feeding into the worry the media projects into the world.

>>What I missed: I have to admit, I wanted to check the financial news for the first two days of the Diet but didn’t. By the third day, I didn’t care as much as the first two. Right now, I could honestly care less. Here are some of the headlines I have missed:

-Economic concerns send shares lower (NY Times)
-Get ready for a wave of bank failures (CNN)
-Taiwanese economy slumps into recession (CNN)
-US tries a trillion-dollar key for locked lending (NY Times)
-Let housing crash (Reuters)

…and a bunch of talk about some stimulus plan.

Here’s what I want to read more of in the upcoming weeks/months:
-Creativity is key to weather recession in fashion (Reuters)

An article like this can give me some information to work with and actually grow my business. Couldn’t agree more!

>>Where I’m going from here:  Reading and listening to the media going on and on about doom and gloom doesn’t directly benefit my life or business in a positive way, instead it begins to have a negative impact in many areas.

I will make an effort to stay informed about the things I can change and have an impact on me. Life goes on and business transactions still happen. Think creatively. There’s more to life than the economy (I really want to add the word “stupid” right here, but won’t).

• Macy’s lays off over 7,000 workers in the same week executives get paid $1.39 million in bonus payments.

• An international hotel chain allows guest to pay what they want at a location in Singapore. For a limited time each day, the hotel opens their online reservation system, which allows guests to choose their own price. The $92 per night rooms start at $1, but the hotel says most guests purchase the rooms for $70-80 per night. This is a sign, they say, that guest value their services and are paying a fair market price.

• President Obama places limits on executive pay for companies who have received government bailout money. (Is this it?)

• Bank of America, which has more than $45 billion in taxpayer money to keep it in business, spent millions as an NFL corporate sponsor this past weekend at the Super Bowl. The bank refused to comment on how much they actually spent.

• Morgan Stanley, another bank that received US bailout money hosted an exclusive conference for clients at the Breaker’s, a five star hotel on the beach in Palm Beach, Florida. How much money did they receive last year from the US government? $10 billion in bailout money. How many workers were laid off? Over 5,000.

What are your thoughts on this corporate disconnect?

The good news: If you can make it in this economy, I believe you can make it happen anywhere and at anytime. Your success during difficult economic times really tells a lot about who you are as a businessperson.

Here are some practical ideas to help you build a stronger business:

1. Don’t grow beyond your means.
Slow and steady really does win the race. If you can’t afford it, don’t go there. This is relevant both in the office and at home.

What you can do: Instead of hiring someone for a couple hours each week, think about the possibility of a high school or college kid taking the work on in exchange for experience, resume building, and a hopefully glowing recommendation.

2. Learn from other people’s success.
Be an observer. Talk to other business owners and keep your eyes and ears open for success stories. Despite a down economy, there are millions of businesses throughout the world doing just fine. Learn from them instead of concentrating on the negative.

What you can do: Ask other small business owners what works and does not work for their businesses. Identify exactly why something clicks for them (personality, industry, financial decisions, etc.) and figure out how you can relate their success to your business.

3. Become more aggressive.
I don’t mean this as something negative. I mean this in a RUN-THE-BEST- MARKETING- CAMPAIGN-EVER type of way. Become more aggressive with your marketing, collecting payments, and saving money.

What you can do: Consult with a trusted outsider who can take a peek at how you do business and make recommendations that will save you money while helping you grow your business.

I highly recommend you check out this New York Times video: Small Business Weathers the Recession