Monday, August 4, 2014

LaMothe Services are designed and developed to support your growing business!

Our services are designed and developed to support your growing business. When you make an appointment for a free consultation, all information gathered is then formulated into a program specifically designed to resolve problem issues using LaMothe Services as your partner. We are willing to sign non-disclosure documents to make you feel comfortable in allowing us to assist you in managing and solving your most delicate business problems.

LaMothe Services specializes in Surrogacy and Egg Donation agencies and other Third Party Family Building Companies. We can also assist other businesses with customer service, organizational, social networking and marketing support issues. Call for your free 40 minute phone consultation.

Please note that LaMothe Services is also offering professional surrogacy consulting packages aimed to educate and inform those considering Surrogacy as a family building option. This service is a natural first step for those exploring all options that are within the realms of Third Party Family Building and the Reproductive Technology Industry.

Thursday, July 31, 2014

How can LaMothe Services help you and your business?

We make it our responsibility to know you and your business. LaMothe Services will work closely with you to ensure that the solutions we provide are tailored to meet your unique needs and challenges. We are committed to your success. Our job is to enter into collaborative relationships with you as our client and take on those assignments that provide dramatic increases in growth and profitability.
LaMothe Services will provide you with the resources to optimize every opportunity.
 
LaMothe Services also provides Coaching, Mentorship, Training, Seminars, Staff Education, and Public Speaking events in the area of Third Party Reproduction, namely Surrogacy and Egg Donation. Our background and expertise will provide your staff with the development and training resources and the results are that your employees will be more motivated, focused, organized and realize results! 
 
At LaMothe Services our highest priority is satisfied customers. We are proud to serve you and work hard to earn your business. Call 727-458-8333 to schedule your free personal 40 minute consultation. There's no obligation, only opportunity.
 

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

A Family of My Own is Coming to Orlando! Sunday September 7th!

I will be speaking with several others on the topic of third party family building...This is a not to be missed FREE event! 

A Family of My Own 2014

Let’s Talk about Making Parenthood Possible!

The Largest Family Building Event in Florida
Whether You’re Hoping for your First or Next
In One Day Discover Your Options

Sunday, September 7, 2014
9:00am – 3:00pm

The conference is returning to Orlando with an expanded schedule of the most up-to-date topics and must-know family building information. 
This FREE event will offer you an opportunity to meet many speakers, specialists and professionals in the fertility and adoption field and ask questions one-on-one.
More than 15 Educational Sessions to choose from throughout the day.  Attend as many or as few as you like!
Exhibit Hall – Attendee Specials - Giveaways!

Topics include:

What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting: Infertility Basics and Beyond
Common Infertility Concerns: Endometriosis, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), Immune Disorders
Getting Fit for Fertility: How Nutrition and Health affect Men and Women’s Fertility
Modern Family Building with Third Party Reproduction: Sperm and Egg Donation, Surrogacy
Men’s Reproductive Health
The Latest, Successful Reproductive Surgery Options for Women and Men
Financing Fertility Treatments: Know Your Insurance/Prescription Plans, Other Finance Programs, Questions to Ask
Adoption Basics and Must Ask Questions: Starting Your Adoption Journey
Adoption Options: Domestic / Open / Closed / International / Transracial and Transcultural / Foster / Social Media
Openness in Adoption: A Candid Discussion with Adoptive Parent and Birthmom
Sunday, September 7, 2014
9:00am – 3:00pm 

Westin Lake Mary

2974 International Parkway
Lake Mary, FL 32746 (map)

Saturday, July 19, 2014

It's Not Too Late to Register for START ART 2014! August 6-9 in Las Vegas!

http://www.directrsvp.com/STARTART/ is the place to register! I have been attending for over 12 years and this is a great conference if you are a professional in the field of infertility or you are in the medical field and want to explore what's going on with Assisted Reproductive Technology. I hope to see you there!
Sharon

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Five Common Mistakes Bloggers Make When They Want More Readers … and How to Fix Them By by Ali Luke

Do you want more readers?

It’s a silly question. Almost every blogger does – whether they have 5 readers, 500 or 5,000.
However, some bloggers end up making big mistakes when they focus on growing their blog larger. These are five of the most common, though you may well have come across others (share your thoughts in the comments below).

Mistake #1: Not Building a Good Blog First

However great your promotional skills are, you’re not going to get far if your blog looks really amateur, contains only two posts, or has default text (like the WordPress sample page) still in place.
Imagine coming across a new blog for the first time, perhaps through a search or through social media. If it makes a poor impression on you, there’s a good chance you won’t be back.
Fix it: Before you start gaining readers, make sure your blog is in good shape. It certainly doesn’t need to be perfect – but you should have at least five posts in place, and at least one of those should have been published within the last month.

Mistake #2: Using Shady SEO Tactics

Some bloggers turn straight to SEO (Search Engine Optimization) when they want new readers. And while being found in search engines is really important, it’s not a good idea to take shortcuts.
Dodgy tactics like writing hundreds of low-quality guest posts just for backlinks, participating in link exchanges, or stuffing your posts full of keywords probably won’t work, and if they do work in the short term, they’ll almost certainly see your site heavily penalized in the next Google update.
Fix it: By all means pay attention to SEO, but use “white hat” tactics that make your blog a better reading experience too. For instance, you could hand-craft descriptions for each post (using a plugin like All in One SEO Pack) and come up with keyword-rich titles that help readers know exactly what your post is about.

Mistake #3: Asking for Links (the Wrong Way)

Some new bloggers create lists of all the top blogs in their niche and promptly email everyone asking for a link.
While this might seem like a good idea at first glance, it’s not likely to result in links (large blogs are inundated with requests like these) and it may well annoy the people who you most want to impress.
Fix it: It’s OK to ask a blogger to link to you – but pick someone who you already have a good relationship with, and try to target someone who regularly includes links on their blog (either in a weekly roundup or in a blogroll).

Mistake #4: Leaving Loads of Blog Comments

While leaving comments is a great way to get involved in the blogging world and build relationships, it’s not a particularly good way to get readers – especially if your comments are all of the “Great post!” variety.
Many bloggers will edit or delete comments which use a keyword rather than your username, too, and some will delete comments that they feel aren't adding to the conversation.
Fix it: Go for quality not quantity in your comments. If you have a good point to add, by all means share it – this may encourage readers to click on your name and check out your blog. Remember that the most important thing is building a relationship with the person who owns the blog you’re commenting on.

Mistake #5: Thinking Great Content is Enough

Some bloggers don’t bother promoting their blog. They ignore SEO (maybe because they’re intimidated by it) and they rarely use social media, or comment on other blogs. In many ways, this is the opposite mistake to the above four.
These bloggers believe that by writing great content, they’ll eventually attract readers who’ll share their posts across the world. (This is the “if you build it, they will come” school of blogging.)
Fix it: Great content should absolutely be your first focus – but the blogging world is so busy and crowded that you need to market your content too.  Try cutting back your posting schedule so you have more time to promote your posts.


The key thing to remember when building an audience is that while there are no super-quick shortcuts, there are definitely methods which work well and consistently to grow your blog.

Friday, January 24, 2014

10 Signs You Might Not Be Ready to Start a Business Found on FOXBusiness by Susan Payton

Before you quit your day job and dive into entrepreneurship, take a moment to think about this major decision. While, certainly, becoming a business owner is an exciting endeavor, it’s not for everyone. And it’s a long-term commitment. You’ll pour blood, sweat, tears, and money into a business, and if it doesn’t work out, you won’t recoup that investment.
If any of the following ring true, you might not be ready to start a business.
1. You’re passionate, but you have no plan. While passion is a cornerstone of a successful small business, it’s simply not enough. You also need a plan for how you’ll make money and grow your business. If the idea of developing such a plan bores you or stresses you out, it might not be a good fit.
2. You don’t have any money. Starting a business is not a “get rich quick” endeavor by any stretch of the imagination. It may be months — or even years — before you turn a profit, and in the meantime, you’ll need enough cash to pay your business expenses and your personal expenses.
3. You have a really neat idea, if only the market wanted it. Unless your idea solves a problem or serves a need, you’ll have a hard time finding customers for it. Remember the dad from the Gremlins movies? He was constantly inventing solutions where there were no problems. A machine that took an egg out of a bowl and cracked it simply wasn’t something the market clamored for.
4. You’ve got major life changes happening. Maybe you just got married. Or had a baby. If you’re in a transitional stage in your life, starting a business will add to the already high levels of stress you’re experiencing. Entrepreneurship might be better later down the road.
5. You just want to be your own boss. If the appeal of not having an overbearing boss to answer to is your driver for starting a business, consider this: your customers will be your new bosses. They’ll dictate what you do and how you do it. If they don’t like what you’re selling, they won’t buy it. And you won’t have the stability of a paycheck as a safety net.
6. You’re the breadwinner in your family. Shifting from one salary to support your family to an erratic, virtually existent entrepreneur’s paycheck is one many families can’t stomach. If your family finances will suffer if you quit your job, wait until you have money saved for this endeavor.
7. You have no experience in this industry. Although you’ve worked as a lawyer for years, you’ve dreamed of opening a cupcake shop. If you’ve got rockstar baking skills, that might help you survive, but if you have no experience in leasing retail space, buying baking supplies, and managing staff, you may find yourself struggling.
8. You want to do what you love. Why would that be a reason to not start a business, you ask? The truth is, few business owners do that thing they love 40 hours a week. In the cupcake shop example, you may find that, while you really enjoy the baking portion of the work, you’re actually doing very little of that in between your admin responsibilities. You’ll be busy creating employee schedules, making deposits at the bank, and calling your suppliers. Someone else will have to handle the baking.
9. You don’t know much about business. While you don’t need an MBA to be a business owner, it helps to have a basic understanding of marketing, accounting, management and finance. You can take continuing education courses at your local community college, read books and blogs, or simply teach yourself. But without a solid business foundation, your house of cards may crumble quickly.
10. You’re not excited enough. Going back to the first example here: you absolutely should be passionate and excited about starting a business. You should be able to see yourself working in that business for decades. You should be willing to do whatever it takes — work 80 hours a week, moonlight while keeping your day job, see your family less — to realize your dreams of business ownership. If you’re not, it’s not worth the pain of starting a business to find that out.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Six Ways to Get Traffic to Your Blog – Without Getting Penalised by Google by Ali Luke


All these tips are ones that you can do right from day one … but they’ll also help you out if you’ve been blogging for years and struggling to get traffic.

#1: Write Content That People Want to Read and Link To

Before you put any other traffic-generation tips into practice, you need to make sure your content is as good as it can be.
To get traffic, you need to have content people want to read. It needs to be:
  • Useful or entertaining (or both!)
  • Well-written
  • Nicely formatted for easy reading
When other people link to your content – with no prompting from you – then you’ll know you’ve got it right. These links are also really valuable, as Google views them as natural and trustworthy.
Go further: It’s OK to occasionally ask someone for a link, but only do this for your very best posts. Don’t ask the same people all the time – and don’t target top A-list bloggers when you’re just starting out.

#2: Use Social Media

If you aren’t already on Twitter or Facebook, get started with one of them.
You don’t need to be on every network out there: focus on one or two that you’re comfortable with, and that are a good fit for your audience. (If you’ve got a business-focused blog, for instance, you might find your readers are more likely to hang out on LinkedIn.)
As well as getting traffic from links shared on social media, you’ll get new followers, plus some bloggers will use links they’ve tweeted as the basis of a weekly round-up of their niche.

#3: Leave Comments on Other Blogs

In the early weeks and months of blogging, leaving comments on other people’s blogs is a great way to get some extra traffic. You might only get a handful of visitors from a comment – but if you leave five comments every day, this will soon add up.
Make sure your comments add value to the conversation, and use your real name (or pseudonym) not a keyword.
Go further: Reply to other readers’ comments and questions, rather than just adding your own thoughts. This is a great way to connect with them as well as with the blogger.

#4: Be Generous in Linking Out

How often do you link to other bloggers? If it’s rarely – or never – then you’re not giving them much reason to link to you.
By being generous with your links, you’ll often find that a blogger will return the favour. You may also be able to strike up a relationship them, potentially helping one another out in other ways too.
Go further: Link to other bloggers in your guest posts (see #6); if they receive a link from a high-profile blog as a result, they’ll definitely be grateful.

#5: Use Your Email Signature

Email signatures are often overlooked as a source of traffic. Look at it this way: you probably send multiple emails every day, and some of those will be to people who don’t know about your blog (or who haven’t visited it in a while).
Include a link to your blog in your signature – perhaps with your tagline, or a few words describing what your blog is about.
Go further: Do the same with your signature on any forums you belong to, if this is allowed.

#6: Write Guest Posts for Other Blogs

Guest posting is a great way to grow your blog fast. It gets your writing in front of a new (and usually much bigger) audience, and you’ll have a short bio at the end of your post to link to your blog, or a post on it.
You’ll get traffic directly from your guest post, but the link itself is valuable too and will help your blog rank more highly in search engines.
Google regularly cracks down on low-quality links, however, so make sure you’re only guest posting on high-quality, reputable sites.

Go further: List the top five sites in your niche that you want to guest post for, and study them carefully to find out what types of post they publish.

If you try to get traffic to your blog by dubious methods, Google will sooner or later crack down and you’ll find your traffic gone.

Quick definitions: “Traffic” means readers coming to your blog – the more, the better!
A “backlink” is a link from another site, pointing to your site. It might go to your homepage, to another page, or to a specific blog post.

Monday, December 2, 2013

It's Cyber Monday and LaMothe Services is offering it's very first Social Networking Special!


It's Cyber Monday and LaMothe Services is offering it's very first Social Networking Special!
 

Social Networking is the fastest and easiest way to stay in touch with colleagues, co-workers, industry professionals, family, and friends. But learning how to navigate a social networking site by yourself can be frustrating especially if you would rather be spending time doing other things. Networking in any form is a great way to keep your business in the forefront of everyone's mind and lead you to a better position in your industry.
 
Package #1 includes:
(Cyber Monday Special of a one time set up fee of $300.00)
Facebook~LinkedIN~Twitter~Wellsphere etc.
 
Setting up your social networking site with your e-mail and contact information
Posting your bio and other relevant information
Feed your blog to your networking site if possible
Showing you how to invite friends from your address book to your site
Teaching you how to navigate the site easily and quickly
 
Package #2 includes:
(Cyber Monday Special of $250.00 paid monthly)
Maintenance of your social networking sites
Posting on your sites 2-3x per week
Networking with other relevant groups from your site
Keeping you informed of events posted on your sites
Posting Your events on your sites
Driving traffic to your social net working sites
 
You can activate this special between now and Jan 1st, 2014. Just let us know when you would like to get started!
 
Happy Holidays!
 
Sharon LaMothe
727-458-8333
 

Friday, November 29, 2013

Four Types of Popular Blog Post That Don’t Require Much Writing by Ali Luke

Do you wish you could produce great blog posts with a minimum of writing?
Well … you can! And they might even turn out to be some of the most popular posts on your blog.
I’m not talking about using video, audio or images here – though all of those can work very well. You can create a normal, text-based post without doing much writing at all.
Here are three types of blog post that often go down very with readers. You won’t need to write more than a few sentences for each (unless you want to).

#1: The Quotes Post

Lists of inspiring, motivational or useful quotes are hugely popular – with good reason. They offer bite-sized, easy-to-digest chunks of advice (or doses of humour).
To put one together, use sites like BrainyQuote and Goodreads to find great quotes on your topic. You might also collect quotes from books, websites, etc during the normal course of your reading and blogging: store them safely for future use.
Example:
How to Flourish: 17 Quotes On Living, Being and Doing (Charlie Gilkey, Productive Flourishing)
This post had over 1,400 shares on Facebook – and I know it’s one of Charlie’s most popular pieces. Yet the only words he wrote are a single-line introduction, and a two-sentence conclusion linking to a follow-up piece.

#2: The Interview Post

If you’re not an expert yet, turn to the people who are. An interview post is a win-win-win: it gives you content you couldn’t have written yourself, it raises your interviewee’s profile, and it provides a fresh perspective for your readers.
Interview posts take time to put together, especially if you’re interviewing several people at once (which can make for a really good resource). Make sure you plan ahead and allow time for busy bloggers to get back to you with their answers.
Example:
Six Inspiring Experts Answer Five Questions on Writing and Blogging (Ali Luke, Zen Optimise)
I put together this post a few weeks ago for Zen Optimise (where I’m Head of Content). Although I wrote quite a long introduction, it only takes up a fraction of the post – each of the six interviewees provided generous, in-depth answers. Daniel’s one of them, so you may want to check out his tips!

#3: The Discussion Post

This type of post works best once your blog has been running long enough to build up a loyal audience of engaged readers. Instead of writing about a topic yourself, you simply pose a question – and watch the comments come in.
Discussion posts can build engagement and community, and they can also be a rich source of ideas for future posts. (You might write a post quoting some of the best comments, for instance – in a similar way to Great Guest Post Pitching Advice from Two DailyBlogTips Readers.)
Example:
DISCUSS: How Often Do You Redesign Your Blog? (Darren Rowse, ProBlogger)
Darren runs discussion posts on a regular basis, with readers adding their answers in the comments. Many readers will write quite in-depth comments – several sentences or a couple of paragraphs.

#4: The Recap Post

New readers often miss out on your older posts, and readers who’ve been around a while may not read every post. A recap post – covering the previous month, three months, six months, or a year – is a great way to showcase some of your best work … without doing much writing.
In your recap post, you’ll obviously put the titles of and links to previous posts, but you might also copy their opening lines or a key paragraph. Once you’ve created one post like this, you can reuse the format again and again – saving you even more time.
Example:
Don’t Miss Out: Read Our Five Top Posts from October 2013 (Ali Luke, DailyBlogTips)
This was a quick post to write, with a short introduction and conclusion, and a main body made up of the top five posts of October – each one has the title, date, and a short excerpt.


I’m sure there are a few tricks I've missed! Drop a comment below and let us know your ideas for creating posts without writing much.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Donor Anonymity: Are Sperm Donors Really Anonymous? By Guest Blogger Michelle Patterson




The decision to become a sperm donor is a major decision that needs to be thoroughly thought out beforehand.  While there are many factors to consider before making your decision, the most important factor to consider is that of your confidentiality and anonymity. You should know and understand what to expect from a donation clinic as far as your confidentiality and your rights as a donor are concerned.  While your rights will differ depending upon what type of donor you will choose to be, they are nonetheless important. 

You should take an adequate amount of time to educate yourself regarding the donation clinic’s confidentiality and anonymity contract before making such an important decision.  You need to insure that you are choosing the clinic that best meets your needs.  All donation centers must have a confidentiality agreement that protects your rights as a donor, and knowing those rights beforehand can make a world of difference before signing a contract.  This article will discuss what to expect from a donation center regarding your confidentiality and anonymity as a donor.

While there are two ways to donate your sperm, anonymously and not anonymously, this article will focus on anonymous donors only.  When donating anonymously, you should expect just that; that your sperm donation will be made entirely and completely anonymously with no chance of your name ever being released to the recipient or the child at any point.  Most clinics should assign you a specific donor number that you will be referred to throughout the donation process, and any other time you decide to donate.  This number will then be included on all of your paperwork in the place of your name, thus again further protecting your anonymity.

It is always important that you read any contract that you are given in full detail before signing your name.  If you have any questions regarding the contract and your rights as a donor, it is vital that you have your questions and concerns addressed before signing the contract.  If you are choosing to donate anonymously, then you most likely have concerns about meeting a child later on, and you want to be sure to agree to that fully in the contract.

Another thing to check on at the donation center is whether or not the center has what is called an “openness agreement.”  An openness agreement is an agreement you sign that states that if a child born from your donation wishes to contact you, you can be contacted by the clinic and asked if you would like to meet the child.  Even if you agree to sign this agreement in case you change your mind about anonymity later on, the agreement should state that your name and information will not be given out without your consent and without the phone call from the clinic beforehand.

Again, it is important to do your research on the clinic you wish to use in order to insure your anonymity, although most clinics that are accredited follow confidentiality contracts fully.

About the Author

Michelle Patterson is a nurse with several years’ experience in a sperm clinic.  She suggests looking into the information provided by California Cryobank regarding sperm donor anonymity before making the decision to become a sperm donor.