Happy Birthday Oprah!!!

I mention Oprah quite often in my various blog posts. She has been such an inspiration to me as a business woman and a person of good will. So it is only right that on her birthday, I dedicate this post to her.

24 Fun Facts About Oprah via Channel 24:

1. Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on 29 January 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi to a teenaged Vernita Lee and coal miner Vernon Winfrey. Her parents were never married and split up soon after her birth.

2.    On her birth certificate, she is Orpah, which is a biblical name. But because her family struggled to pronounce the r before the p, they called her Oprah and it just kinda stuck.

3.    While Oprah wasn’t born with a silver spoon in her mouth, there must have been a microphone nearby. Her grandmother taught her to read at the age of three, and she was known as “The Preacher” at church for her ability to recite Bible verses.

4.    Oprah always held onto her book smarts. She was an honors student and won a scholarship to Tennessee State University where she studied communications.

5.    But she’s not just a smart cookie. Oprah was voted Most Popular in her senior year class and she won the 1971 Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant.

6.    Despite this, Oprah has always battled privately and publicly with her fluctuating weight. Surprisingly, it’s never had an impact on her popularity as it has with most other famous personalities.

7.    Who does Oprah like to talk to most? Her bestie Gayle King, of course.

8.    Rumor has it that Gayle and ‘O’ are more than friends… but Oprah simply describes their relationship as ‘other-worldly”.

9.    Oprah has been together with her longtime partner, academic Stedman Graham since 1986. However, Stedman apparently moved out in August and it’s also reported that Oprah has cut him out of her will. There’s no official word on their current relationship status.

10.    Oprah’s most public love relationship is with her dogs.  In March 2008, her first dog, 13-year-old Sophie died after suffering years of kidney trouble. The world shed a tear with Oprah as she bid Sophie farewell with a video montage on her show.

11.    Her annual holiday feature, Oprah’s Favorite Things, is the most watched episode of her show each year. It’s also the one show EVERYBODY wants to attend because the audience members receive everything on that year’s list as a gift!  <SEE VIDEO CLIP BELOW>

12.    Speaking of favorites, green is her color.

13.    Her favorite book is the American classic, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

14.    Things she definitely doesn’t like include shoes (she prefers to walk barefoot), bubblegum and heights.

15.    With a net worth of over $2.3 billion, she can have all of her favorite things, all of the time.

16.    She doesn’t keep it all to herself, though. Oprah’s Angel Network has raised more than $51 million for various charities, and she regularly matches the public’s sum donations, as she did with the Hurricane Katrina relief fund.

17.    In January 2007, The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girlswas opened in Meyerton, South of Johannesburg. Oprah donated $40 million to establish this facility.

18.    Just recently, Oprah helped her mom out of a lawsuit claiming Vernita Lee owed $155 000 in unpaid clothing store bills.

19.    The world respects Oprah’s opinion. She was so instrumental in electing Barack Obama as US President last year, the governor of Illinois considered offering her Obama’s vacant senate seat.

20.    If you hadn’t already guessed, her production company, Harpo Productions, is her name spelled backwards.

21.    Like all big shot celebs, Oprah likes to branch out. You may have seen her in Beloved as well as in The Color Purple, for which she received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her role as Sofia.

22.    Her magazine is named after her nickname, “O“, and the editor is her best friend Gayle King.

23.She appears on the cover of every single edition. This year, after many impassioned pleas from Ellen Degeneres, Oprah invited the other talk show host to join her on the cover of the Christmas edition.

24.    The only other person to share the O Magazine cover with her is Michelle Obama. Not even Oprah would say no to Obama!

So these are just a view of some of Oprah’s dynamic “fun facts”. It is my hope that I will manifest a life similar to hers! She is just simply AWESOME!!!

Happy Birthday Oprah!!!!

Love,

Candace M. Braddock

Become a Global Entrepreneur Without Leaving Home

These days starting an becoming a global entrepreneur from home has never been easier!

Whether you are an affiliate marketer, business manager, or writer, there are an infinite number of ways to make money leveraging the Internet.

While it does take some serious commitment and hard work (just like anything else worth succeeding at), more and more people are becoming their own boss by turning their passions into legitimate enterprises online.

What makes the Internet so attractive is that it will instantly allow you to participate in the global economy…without leaving your home.

What a cost effective way to reach millions of potential customers!
Not only can you tap into your local markets, putting your business online opens up the gateways to international commerce. Ever thought of selling your books in Italy, or servicing an international client who needs web design services?

It’s possible online and you don’t need any more than an internet connection and some basic knowledge to make it happen.

Find a Niche
The very first step is finding out who your target market is going to be. Who needs what you have to offer, and where do you find them online? There are a number of free tools that will help you determine your target audience. Use Google Analytics to find out who you are appealing to the most, and then cater your services and content to target those people directly. Another great tool is Google Global Market Finder. It can show you where there’s demand for your keywords – and your products.

Choose Your Platform
How will you deliver your content to your audience? If you have a physical product to sell, you may want to consider listing your business with sites like Amazon, eBay and Etsy. Google Product Search allows you to upload your products through the Google Merchant Center, with links back to your store. You may also want to sell directly from your blog or website.

Making Your Business Accessible
To make money in your online business, it’s important to be able to drive organic traffic to your site and convert visitors to buyers. Make sure your site is easy to navigate and your services, products and prices are displayed in the local currency. You also want to make it as easy as possible for your visitors to purchase from you. Giving your visitors the best experience possible while they are on your site is guaranteed to increase sales. Also, make sure visitors and customers can get in contact with you through a customer support platform that makes it simple for them to ask questions and get prompt responses.

Other details you’ll want to research are shopping carts and payment processors. How will people pay for your services? Does everyone have access to PayPal, or do you need to have other options, such as credit card or e-check payments. You’ll also need to think about shipping if you’re sending products overseas. If you create and sell digital products, customers can be redirected to a download page once their transaction is complete.

Go Social

Leveraging social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn is a great way to connect with customers and engage with potential prospects. There are a ton of new opportunities that come from utilizing social media platforms. Not only is it a great way to connect, you can drive leads, build your credibility and brand exposure, as well as find new partnership opportunities. Social media continues to prove to be a hotspot for networking, sharing ideas, and picking up advice.

Becoming a successful global entrepreneur does take some work, and there are no shortcuts for success. There will be many learning experiences, missteps and challenges, but if you do your research, develop a solid marketing plan, and put in the work, your business will flourish. Once you have a formula that works, stick to it and the payoff can be extraordinary. Becoming a global entrepreneur allows you to open up the gates of the Internet and welcome prospects from all over the world – without leaving your home.