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You have a great product or service. The best in its field, without a doubt. You get a great new website, open your doors, and...

Wait. And wait.

You see, developing a great product is only half of the equation, maybe less. If no one knows about it, you wont have any customers. How do you get people to find you and buy what you are offering?

It is very difficult to stand out in the marketplace today. Everyone is clamoring for attention, information overload is prevalent, and consumers have little time or money to spend looking for you. Unless you pop up on the first page of an internet search, very few customers will find you, but it is next to impossible to get on that first page without a lot of volume on your site! Classic Catch 22.

The key is for you to go out and find customers, dont wait for them to find you!

Marketing campaigns and Search Engine Optimization providers can cost a lot of money, but here are some things you can try without breaking the bank:

1.What, you dont have a website? You have to have a website to sell anything these days. Search around, there are many companies that will design your website just for free if you host with them on a monthly basis. You might not get the most customized one, but at least it gets you out there. Or maybe you can barter one for a service that you provide.

2. Analyze your website. Thats right, not all websites are equal in the mechanical eyes of the search engines. You need to make sure that your website has the right key words, that the density of those key words is high in your site, and that your links work, etc. Type in Search Engine Optimization on Google or another search engine, and you will get a list of companies that provide services to improve the rank of your website. Just reading these sites will give you a wealth of information, but using some of the free tools on these sites can greatly improve your website and how traffic gets there. Of course if you can afford it, give them some business and let them analyze your site and redesign it for you!

3.Put the word out! Write letters, articles, email your friends and ask them to email their friends. Your local business section in the newspaper probably has a new businesses feature. Submit news about your product or service to ezines. All of this is free!

4.List on Craigslist.org. Its amazing how popular craigslist has become, and listings are free.

5.For a little more money, sell on ebay or Amazon. They have a variety of services for small businesses. Their customer service workers are knowledgeable and polite, so dont be afraid to ask questions if you dont know how to get your product up and running. Some services cost a monthly fee, some are one time, so make sure to read the fine print.

Get ready to start making sales!

Lisa Merritt is president of Pegasus Consulting Group, Inc., a full-service grant writing company, and author of Simply: Grant Writing. Please visit her website, http://www.pegasuswriter.com, for more information or to purchase Simply: Grant Writing in electronic format to get started grant writing today. She also writes fiction and is completing her first novel.

When the tightly packed petals of the rosebud let go, the rose blossoms.

I have found that confusion often clouds the subject of letting go. Many dedicated seekers of spiritual truth seem to stumble on this point. We all let go naturally to a certain extent. We let go and allow life force to flow. We release our hold and let the divine forces act in our lives. Good always comes from this.

We all resist it, too. We try to control everything. We attempt to orchestrate the divine unfolding from our own personal point of view. Like a fish trying to control the tide, we stress and strain in an attempt to use our muscles to keep life on track. We seem to think it is our job to keep the planets spinning. We try to control the motives of other people. We try to run life the way we think it should be run. Frustration and fatigue usually come from this.

Dont Let Go!

In order to disperse some of the confusion about letting go, lets see whats at the bottom of it. Lets look first at why it is so appealing to cling to our efforts to control everything. Everyone knows that if you are holding something precious and you let go, it will drop and possibly break. Gravity has us well trained. You will often hear the cry, Dont let go! It is the motto of the physical world and it is a valuable dictum in its realm. If you are carrying a beautiful, handmade ceramic bowl that a dear friend crafted just for you and you let go, gravity will step in before you can achieve enlightenment and carry you into sadness as you suffer the loss of your bowl.

On the mental level we feel we must hold everything carefully in our minds or chaos will ensue. The grocery list, the meetings, the work to be done, the babysitters phone number. The list is endless and we hold on tenaciously with the muscles of our minds. In the mental realm, we fear chaos will get us if we dont keep our minds tightly packed.

The Dilemma

So we can see why we dont think its a very good idea to let go. It seems like it will give us broken bowls, missed appointments and a generally chaotic life if we let go. And yet, we have all heard the very popular phrase Let go and let God. Similarly, Abraham talks convincingly about the Art of Allowing. In another idiom, Buddhist teachings expose the problem of grasping. We again see the same principle in the teachings of the Science of Mind in the essential stage of prayer marked by release. In fact, it seems most spiritual teachings not only mention, but emphasize the importance of letting go. Is it that they want us to break all our bowls?

No. It is something mystical and profound that they are teaching us. But as long as we keep testing the teachings by dropping bowls and convincing ourselves to hold on tight, we will never learn the lesson.

Faith in Something Greater

The letting go lesson has nothing to do with bowls and phone numbers. It defies gravity and entropy. The message encoded in the words let go is one of trust. When we let go, we have faith that the planets will continue to spin in their orbits without our help.

When we let go we honor the great and infinite layers of organization that hold the universe together.

By joyously letting go, we find that gravity has an invisible partner. And as reliable as gravity is when it comes to bringing things to the earth, its partner is as reliable in bringing good outcomes. It is a force, greater than us, acting whether we are aware of it or not. It acts when we hold on and when we let go. It acts when we are alert and when we are asleep. This force is always moving things in the direction of the greatest good. It is moving heaven and earth for the fulfillment of your hearts desire. It is answering your prayers without ceasing. It is, like gravity, tireless in its enthusiastic embrace of its role in the scheme of things.

When we let go of the bowl, gravity gets hold of it and takes it to the ground. When we let go of our dreams and desires, this other tremendous force comes in like a wind. It carries our dreams to fulfillment. It guides our hands, moves our thoughts, leads us to greater and greater fulfillment.

Letting go does not mean giving up. The lesson is not one of learning to live a meager life, satisfied with crumbs. Letting go means, rather than trying to blow in your sails, let the wind carry you and see how far you go. It means rather than trying to manipulate others, enjoy them just as they are and be amazed at how their beauty shines through. It means rather than trying to control all outcomes, make it your work to open the pathways for the energy to flow and see how magnificently your dreams take form. 2004 Rebbie Straubing

You can receive Dr. Rebbie Straubing's Free e-Course, 7 Secrets for Manifesting Your Heart's Desire, at http://www.yofa.net/7secret.html

Rebbie is a workshop leader, Abraham Coach, and writer.

Read more of her articles at her website http://www.YOFA.net and listen to her meditation recordings at the Affirmative Contemplation website at http://www.AffirmativeContemplation.com